Voyager 1 is nearly 14.5 billion miles from Earth and continues to be exported from the solar system at about 38,000 miles per hour. But NASA engineers working on the 44-year-old spacecraft have recently been annoyed by the probe’s articulation and control system, which generates data that seems completely random.
“Such a mystery is something normal for the course at this stage of the Voyager mission,” said Susanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager 1 and 2 at NASA’s Southern California Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement from NASA.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 has been in interstellar space for nearly 10 years. It is impressive that the spacecraft continues to send data back to Earth, but its telemetry data has recently become invalid; according to NASA, the data simply does not match any of Voyager ‘s true position and conditions.
The Voyager team continues to look closely at the strange articulation and control (AACS) data; they are not sure if the problem comes directly from this system or another part of the spacecraft.
“The spacecraft are almost 45 years old, which is far beyond what the mission planned. We are also in interstellar space – an environment with high radiation, in which no spacecraft has flown before, “added Dodd. “There are some big challenges for the engineering team. But I think if there is a way to solve this problem with AACS, our team will find it. “
G / O Media may receive a commission
Save $ 70
Apple AirPods Max
Enjoy next-level SoundSpatial audio with dynamic head tracking delivers theater-like sound that surrounds you
The fact that Voyager spacecraft are old does not mean that they are not useful. The data from the probes revealed a hitherto unknown phenomenon of the interstellar environment, and Voyager 1 recently discovered oscillations in the plasma of deep space. In essence, this is the equivalent of Tom Brady’s spaceship winning the 43-year-old Super Bowl.
It is possible that the source of the readings of meaningless data has not been identified, and NASA engineers are simply learning to live with this strangeness. The problem does not affect any of Voyager 1’s scientific tools, all of which remain in service 44 years later, and the team expects both spacecraft to continue operating after 2025.
More: The Voyager 2 team has published the first scientific data on interstellar space
Add Comment