Voyager 1 is the furthest spacecraft from Earth in human history. She could remain so for many years – at least in an active state and before we lose contact with her completely. But for three months now, one of the three computers on board the spacecraft has been sending nothing but junk data.
“Engineers are still working to resolve a data issue on Voyager 1. We can talk to the probe and it can hear us, but this is a slow process given the probe’s incredible distance from Earth.”, says a post on the social media platform X.
In December 2023, the American space agency NASA made the problem public. Since then, the Flight Data System (FDS) has no longer sent scientific and technical data to Earth. Only a carrier signal reaches us. At least it shows that the spacecraft is still active. Voyager 1 can also receive commands from Earth and so far no further problems appear to have occurred.
No backup possible – work mode could be the solution
NASA is working on a solution to this problem. The agency believes the problem is in Voyager 1’s memory. But its backup has no longer been operational since 1981. So four years after it started in 1977.
However, the probe could be put into a different mode. This could be used to narrow down the type or location of the error. The last time the spacecraft worked in this mode was in 1979 and 1980 when it passed the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn.
However, there is no simulator on Earth for the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes. This makes troubleshooting difficult. There are not even a dozen people at NASA responsible for the Voyager mission, which has been running for more than 46 years. Since the recent problems, the team has grown slightly.
NASA officials become detective archaeologists
To solve the problem, they have to comb through decades-old paper instructions. Many of the former Voyager pioneers are now dead, explained project manager Suzanne Dodd in an interview with Arstechnica. The work is therefore similar to an archaeological undertaking.
Given the age of the space probe, another device could fail at any time. That’s why a decision must now be made, explains Dodd. A new attempt to breathe new life into Voyager 1 will be launched within the next few weeks. The probe should switch to work mode. The team hopes to be able to determine the defect in the memory.
It takes 22 hours and 35 minutes for the order to be transmitted. The space probe’s response to Earth takes just as long. She is currently located about 24.3 billion kilometers away from us. “It would be the biggest miracle if we got her back”says Dodd, who has been Voyager 1’s project manager since 2010. But she remains optimistic. The team continues to work on a solution to the most serious problem.