Voyager 1 returns to full operation in interstellar space

June 14 () –

NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe, which navigates interstellar space, is conducting normal science operations for the first time after a technical problem it suffered in November.

The team partially solved the problem in April when it asked the spacecraft to start sending engineering data, including information about the spacecraft’s status and health. On May 19, the mission team executed the second step of that repair process and sent a command to the spacecraft to begin sending scientific data. Two of the four scientific instruments returned to their normal operating modes immediately. Two other instruments required additional work, but now, all four are sending usable scientific data.

The four instruments study plasma waves, magnetic fields and particles. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are the only spacecraft to directly sample interstellar space, which is the region outside the heliosphere, the protective bubble of magnetic fields and solar wind created by the Sun. NASA reports.

While Voyager 1 has returned to scientific work, additional minor work is needed to clean up the effects of the problem. Among other tasks, engineers will resynchronize the timing software on the spacecraft’s three onboard computers so they can execute commands at the right time. The team will also maintain the digital recorder, which records some data for the plasma wave instrument that is sent to Earth twice a year. Most of Voyager’s scientific data is sent directly to Earth and is not recorded.

The Voyager 1 is more than 24 billion kilometers from Earth, and Voyager 2 is more than 20 billion kilometers from the planet. The probes will celebrate 47 years of operations at the end of this year. They are NASA’s spacecraft that have been in operation the longest and have flown the furthest. Both spacecraft passed by Jupiter and Saturn, while Voyager 2 also passed by Uranus and Neptune.