Launched in 1977, #NASA’s Voyager 1 probe now 24 billion kilometers from Earth. Considered one of its on-board computer systems seems to be defective, however floor groups are engaged on an answer.
That is in all probability certainly one of NASA’s most iconic probes. Voyager 1 left our planet on September 5, 1977 , a couple of days after its double Voyager 2 (which took off on August 20). Designed by the American company’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the 2 machines collected knowledge beforehand unpublished on the time regarding Jupiter (1979) then Saturn (1980 and 1981) earlier than taking totally different routes.
However since November 2023, Voyager 1 has suffered from a malfunction in certainly one of its onboard computer systems .
AMBASSADOR OF HUMANITY
When Voyager 1 crossed Saturn in 1980, the selection was made to have it fly carefully by Titan, the biggest moon of the ringed big. With this trajectory, the probe won’t be able to go to Uranus then Neptune like Voyager 2. However, Voyager 1 is forward of its sister and NASA will declare that it has left the Photo voltaic System on August 25, 2012 (the probe is then not less than as a lot topic to the affect of different stars as that of ours ).
In the present day, this robotic ambassador of humanity (she carries a golden disk containing a presentation of our planet and our civilization) continues to gather treasured scientific knowledge and transmit it to Earth.
At 24 billion kilometers away , the radio sign emitted with 24 Watts of energy is simply a billionth of a billionth of a Watt right here and requires essentially the most imposing antennas of the Deep House Community.
A “POTENTIAL SOLUTION”
Nevertheless, since November 2023 , the circulation of information obtained not is smart . The groups answerable for listening to Voyager 1 and decoding the info transmitted have discovered the perpetrator: the FDS (Flight Information Subsystem) .
This is among the probe’s computer systems that prepares instrument knowledge to format it accurately for radio transmission. Its malfunction subsequently causes a stream of information out of order which can’t be interpreted.
Whereas the scenario appeared to be blocked, a particular order was despatched on March 1st. It took 22 hours and half-hour to succeed in Voyager 1 and the response arrived on March 3.
On March 7 the decoding work started and on March 10 the technicians observed that the 0 and 1 obtained contained code from the FDS reminiscence . Evaluating it to that obtained earlier than the breakdown, NASA reveals hope for a “ potential resolution ” , whereas warning that “ placing it into motion will take time ”.