NASA fixes 24-billion-km Voyager-1 glitch

Currently, Voyager-1 is limited to sending back only data pertaining to the health of its onboard systems. Further efforts are anticipated to restore the functionality of its scientific instruments. Situated over 24 billion km (15 billion miles) from Earth, Voyager-1's communications take approximately 22.5 hours to reach us, underlining the vast distances involved in space exploration.

“Voyager-1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems… the next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again,” commented NASA.

Voyager-1 was launched from Earth in 1977 on a tour of the outer planets, but then just kept going.

It moved beyond the bubble of gas emitted by the Sun - a domain known as the heliosphere - in 2012, and is now embedded in interstellar space, which contains the gas, dust and magnetic fields from other stars.

A faulty chip was identified as the cause of recent difficulties experienced by the ageing Voyager spacecraft. This defect hindered Voyager’s computers from accessing a crucial segment of software code necessary for packaging information to be sent back to Earth. For a while, engineers were unable to decipher any data from Voyager, even though indications showed that the spacecraft was still receiving their commands and functioning normally. The problem was ultimately addressed by relocating the troubled code to different memory sections within the probe’s computers.

Voyager-1 embarked on its journey from Earth on the 5th of September 1977, shortly after its sibling, Voyager-2. The primary mission of both spacecraft was to explore the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, a mission they accomplished by 1989. Following this, they were directed towards deep space, aimed towards the centre of our galaxy.

The spacecraft are powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which generate electricity from the heat produced by decaying plutonium. As the plutonium continues to decay, these generators yield slightly less power each year.

The future operational capacity of the Voyager probes remains uncertain, though engineers have continually devised methods to extend their functionality by a few more years.

Voyager-2, trailing slightly behind its twin and moving at a slower pace, is currently just over 20 billion km (13 billion miles) from Earth. Despite travelling at speeds exceeding 15 km per second (9 miles per second), neither spacecraft will near another star for tens of thousands of years.