It\u2019s been four months since NASA\u2019s Voyager 1 spacecraft sent an intelligible signal back to Earth, and the problem has puzzled engineers tasked with supervising the probe exploring interstellar space.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s a renewed optimism among the Voyager ground team based at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. On March 1, engineers sent a command up to Voyager 1\u2014more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away from Earth\u2014to \u201cgently prompt\u201d one of the spacecraft\u2019s computers to try different sequences in its software package. This was the latest step in NASA\u2019s long-distance troubleshooting to try to isolate the cause of the problem preventing Voyager 1 from transmitting coherent telemetry data.<\/p>\n
Officials suspect a piece of corrupted memory inside the Flight Data Subsystem (FDS), one of three main computers on the spacecraft, is the most likely culprit for the interruption in normal communication. Because Voyager 1 is so far away, it takes about 45 hours for engineers on the ground to know how the spacecraft reacted to their commands\u2014the one-way light travel time is about 22.5 hours.<\/p>\n
The FDS collects science and engineering data from the spacecraft\u2019s sensors, then combines the information into a single data package, which goes through a separate component called the Telemetry Modulation Unit to beam it back to Earth through Voyager\u2019s high-gain antenna.<\/p>\n
Engineers are almost entirely certain the problem is in the FDS computer. The communications systems onboard Voyager 1 appear to be functioning normally, and the spacecraft is sending a steady radio tone back to Earth, but there\u2019s no usable data contained in the signal. This means engineers know Voyager 1 is alive, but they have no insight into what part of the FDS memory is causing the problem.<\/p>\n
But Voyager 1 responded to the March 1 troubleshooting command with something different from what engineers have seen since this issue first appeared on November 14.<\/p>\n
,<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new signal was still not in the format used by Voyager 1 when the FDS is working properly, so the team wasn\u2019t initially sure what to make of it,\u201d NASA said in an update Wednesday. \u201cBut an engineer with the agency\u2019s Deep Space Network, which operates the radio antennas that communicate with both Voyagers and other spacecraft traveling to the Moon and beyond, was able to decode the new signal and found that it contains a readout of the entire FDS memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, engineers are meticulously comparing each bit of code from the FDS memory readout to the memory readout Voyager 1 sent back to Earth before the issue arose in November. This, they hope, will allow them to find the root of the problem. But it will probably take weeks or months for the Voyager team to take the next step. They don\u2019t want to cause more harm.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing that information to devise a potential solution and attempt to put it into action will take time,\u201d NASA said.<\/p>\n
This is perhaps the most serious ailment the spacecraft has encountered since its launch in 1977. Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter and Saturn before getting a kick from Saturn\u2019s gravity to speed into the outer solar system. In 2012, Voyager 1 entered interstellar space when it crossed the heliopause, where the solar wind, the stream of particles emanating from the Sun, push against a so-called galactic wind, the particles that populate the void between the stars.<\/p>\n
Engineers have kept Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, alive for more than 46 years, overcoming technical problems that have doomed other space missions. Both probes face waning power from their nuclear batteries, and there are concerns about their thrusters aging and fuel lines becoming clogged, among other things. But each time there is a problem, ground teams have come up with a trick to keep the Voyagers going, often referencing binders of fraying blueprints and engineering documents from the spacecraft\u2019s design and construction nearly 50 years ago.<\/p>\n
Suzanne Dodd, NASA\u2019s project manager for Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, recently told Ars that engineers would need to pull off their \u201cbiggest miracle\u201d to restore Voyager 1 to normal operations. Now, Voyager 1\u2019s voice from the sky has provided engineers with a clue that could help them realize this miracle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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