This is not the first time that the furthest active probe from our planet is affected by a problem, but it is serious. For about a month, NASA teams have been working to identify and resolve the problems… But the data takes more than 44 hours to travel back and forth!
With more than 46 years of mission each, the two Voyager 1 and 2 probes are the boomers of space exploration. And like the latter, vehicles sometimes start talking nonsense while it becomes more and more difficult to correct their mistakes. In 2020, there was the problem with the orientation of the Voyager 2 antenna, which was subject to reprogramming (the problem has been definitively resolved since this summer), and now there is a problem with Voyager 1. Since November 14, the probe has apparently entered a software loop from which it cannot escape: it tirelessly sends the same messages to Earth, from its internal flight data . It has been more than a month since the teams have received any scientific measurements or other usable data.
Voyager 1 speaks on loop
The situation is described as worrying. Last week, a temporary program was sent to Voyager 1, so that it could escape this blocking loop… Without apparent results for the moment. A damn loop While() ? All programmers have already made the mistake, but here, we must above all understand how this simple, but very old hardware could end up in such a condition: the error is not so much in the code as in the conditions in which it is executed…
Another problem is that whatever the solution tested, it takes a minimum of 22:34 for the signals sent from Earth to reach the probe. If the latter receives the message correctly (these missions often have to be “spammed” with messages sent at maximum power, because their on-board computer does not always receive it in full at this distance), it still needs to be sent at maximum power. record and respond, which again takes 22:34 the other way. We thus quickly “waste” a week then another trying to understand a problem… Especially since there is no question of being too bold and blocking the entire probe this time.
There is still hope!
For the moment, those responsible do not consider Voyager 1 lost, and efforts will logically continue for several months if the situation does not change. After all, as long as the probe continues to transmit, there is hope! At more than 24 billion kilometers, there are still a few watts available thanks to its small radioactive heat generator, and the scientific teams are particularly interested in analyzes of charged particles at this distance from our star. Hoping that the adventure continues…
Source : CNN
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