NASA loses contact with Voyager 2, incorrect command shifts antenna
NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft lost its signal due to an incorrect command. NASA announced that this situation had disrupted the spacecraft's communication ability, and that it was unable to receive commands from the mission team on Earth. Now, the giant dish antenna in Canberra, Australia, is attempting to capture a wayward signal from Voyager 2.
- Americas
- Agencies and A News
- Published Date: 09:21 | 01 August 2023
- Modified Date: 09:27 | 01 August 2023
Voyager 2 is currently on a journey into the depths of interstellar space. However, about a week ago, flight controllers sent an incorrect command to the spacecraft, causing its antenna to turn away from Earth. Since then, Voyager 2 has been cut off from communication.
The spacecraft's antenna only shifted by 2 percent, but it was enough to disrupt communication. Though it is considered a remote possibility, NASA said in a statement on Monday that the giant dish antenna in Canberra was searching for any wayward signal coming from Voyager 2, which is about 19 billion kilometers away. It takes over 18 hours for a signal to reach Earth from such a distance.
Voyager 2 was launched from Florida in 1977 to explore the outer solar system, including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, just a few weeks after its twin spacecraft, Voyager 1. In 2018, it entered interstellar space and made discoveries of several new moons around Uranus and Jupiter.
According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the Voyager missions, the Canberra antenna, part of NASA's Deep Space Network, will attempt to bombard Voyager 2 with the correct command next week, hoping to reestablish communication. Otherwise, NASA will have to wait until October for an automatic spacecraft reset that would allow reestablishing communication.
Voyager 1, which is still in contact with Earth, is currently about 24 billion kilometers away, making it the farthest human-made spacecraft in existence.