NASA engineers have successfully restored contact with Voyager 1, the farthest spacecraft from Earth, after a weekslong blackout caused by its dwindling power supply. The issue began in October when the aging probe automatically switched to a weaker radio transmitter, cutting off communication with the mission team on Earth.
The problem arose when the computer determined that Voyager I had too little power, triggering the autonomous fault protection system to shut off systems and conserve energy. Engineers had to seek out the faint signal of the S-band transmitter, which hadn’t been used since 1981, to restore reliable communication.
Once contact was reestablished, NASA began collecting science data again starting in mid-November. The team is now focused on determining how long they can keep the science instruments going with the current power available.
Voyager 1 has outlasted its original mission by more than 47 years, operating in interstellar space and becoming the only spacecraft to operate beyond the heliosphere. Despite power losses, the probes continue to send back valuable scientific data on charged gas, magnetic fields, and particles in uncharted territory.
The incident highlights the challenges faced by the Voyager mission team as they work to squeeze every last bit of power out of the aging spacecraft. With only four science instruments operating on each spacecraft, the team is closely monitoring the probe’s performance to ensure it continues to provide valuable long-term observations.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/03/science/voyager-1-radio-transmitter-power-supply/index.html