NASA has confirmed that the spacecraft has regained audio and resumed normal operations after communications with Voyager 1 ceased in late October.
Voyager unexpectedly turned off its main radio transmitter, known as X-band, before turning on its much weaker S-band transmitter in October.
The interstellar spacecraft is currently located some 15.4 billion miles from Earth, and the S-band has not been used for more than 40 years.
Communications between NASA and Voyager 1 were sometimes unreliable, and the switch to low-bandwidth prevented the Voyager mission team from downloading scientific data or information about the spacecraft’s status.
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This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft traveling through interstellar space, the space between stars, which it entered in 2012. (NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology)
Earlier this month, the research team was able to restart the X-band transmitter and resume collecting data from Voyager 1’s four active scientific instruments.
Now, as data is collected and communications resumed, engineers are completing the few remaining tasks to return Voyager 1 to its pre-problem state. One of the tasks is to reset the system that synchronizes Voyager 1’s three onboard computers.
The S-band was activated by the spacecraft’s fault protection system when engineers turned on Voyager 1’s heater. The failure protection system determined that the spacecraft did not have enough power and automatically turned off systems not needed to keep the spacecraft flying. Keep critical systems powered.
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NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, shown here, along with its twin Voyager 2, have been exploring the solar system since 1977. (NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology)
But in the process, the spacecraft turned off all non-essential systems except for scientific instruments, turned off X-band and turned on S-band, which uses less power, NASA said.
Voyager 1 had not used S-band to communicate with Earth since 1981.
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This illustration provided by NASA depicts Voyager 1, the farthest spacecraft from Earth. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California announced this week that Voyager 1’s four scientific instruments have returned to service after a technical problem. (NASA via AP, File)
Voyager 1’s journey began in 1977, when the spacecraft and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched on a journey around the solar system’s gas giants.
After sending back dazzling postcard views of Jupiter’s giant red spot and Saturn’s shimmering rings, Voyager 2 soared toward Uranus and Neptune. Meanwhile, Voyager 1 used Saturn as a gravitational slingshot to power its passage past Pluto.
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Each spacecraft carries 10 scientific instruments, and NASA says four are currently being used to study particles, plasmas, and magnetic fields in interstellar space.
