For the first time in five months, the technicians of NASA they received decipherable data from Voyager 1thanks to a creative solution designed to solve a communication problem with humanity’s most distant space probe, currently positioned approximately 24 billion kilometers from Earth.
Launched 46 years ago, Voyager 1 has shown various signs of aging in recent years. The most recent problem emerged in November 2023, when the flight data system’s telemetry modulation unit began transmitting a repetitive, indecipherable code pattern. Since then, although the probe continued to send a constant radio signal, it contained no usable data.
On April 20, the mission team received the first consistent data on the status and health of Voyager 1’s engineering systems. While analysis is still ongoing, early results indicate that the probe is in good working order. Linda SpilkerVoyager project scientist at JPL, expressly stated:
Today was a fantastic day for Voyager 1. We are once again in communication with the probe and eagerly await the return of the science data.
The discovery and resolution of the problem
The resolution was the result of a series of attempts and a thorough investigation that led to the discovery of a single faulty chip. After sending a command on March 1 to run several software sequences and isolate the problem, the team identified a piece of data on March 3 that stood out from the rest. Thanks to the efforts of an engineer from NASA’s Deep Space Network, it was possible to decode the signal which included a complete readout of the flight data system’s memory.
It was discovered that 3% of the memory was corrupted due to a damaged chip, which may have been worn down or hit by an energetic space particle. Unable to repair the chip, the technicians decided to move the affected code to other areas of memory, dividing it into sections and updating the references necessary for their correct functioning.
After reallocating the code necessary for engineering data processing, a radio signal was sent to Voyager 1 on April 18, which took 22.5 hours to reach the probe. The response, received on April 20, confirmed the success of the code change. Over the next few days, the team will continue to move other affected parts of the software. The Voyager probes, originally designed for a five-year mission and launched in 1977, continue to send valuable data from interstellar space, beyond the heliosphere. Suzanne Doddmanager of the Voyager project, was fascinated by the resilience of the probes:
We never know what will happen with the Voyagers, but it’s amazing how they continue to function.
Voyager 2, which is operating normally, is more than 20.3 billion kilometers from Earth. The mission continues thanks to the contribution of younger engineers who bring new knowledge and ideas.
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