The Voyager 1 probe, the most distant man-made object from Earth, recently experienced a period of disrupted communications that is causing concern among NASA scientists. From October 19 to 24, the probe actually lost contact due to a technical malfunction which resulted in the shutdown of its main radio transmitter. Fortunately, engineers were able to make contact with a backup transmitter, allowing communication to be re-established and the start of assessing the situation.
An unexpected technical incident
The problem began on October 16, when engineers ordered Voyager 1 to activate one of its heaters. Although the spacecraft had enough energy to execute this command, it caused an unexpected reaction from the probe's fault protection system. This system, designed to protect Voyager 1 in the event of a problem, automatically disabled the main radio transmitter in order to save energy. As a result, scientists were unable to receive signals from the probe, leading to a worrying period of silence.
Once the engineers realized that the main transmitter was inactive, they managed to detect a signal emitted by the emergency transmittera less powerful alternative that had no not been used since 1981. On October 22, a command was sent to verify that Voyager 1 was indeed using this emergency transmitter and contact was reestablished two days later. However, more in-depth analyzes are necessary to identify the precise cause of the failure and restore normal operation of the probe.
Naturally, communicating with Voyager 1 is not easy. To more than 24 billion kilometers of Earth, each order takes approximately 23 hours to reach the probe and responses also take just as long to come back. This means that it can take several days to resolve even the simplest technical issues. Additionally, increasing distance makes these communications increasingly valuable and complex with technical issues becoming more common as probes age.
Two distant emissaries
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are the first probes to explore interstellar space and provide essential data on the limits of our Solar System. They made it possible to measure the composition and density of the solar wind, a flow of charged particles emitted by the Sun, and to analyze the interactions between this wind and the interstellar medium. These observations helped to characterize the heliospherethe bubble of space created by the solar wind, as well as to understand how it protects our Solar System from cosmic rays and particles that come from space.
Voyager 1 was also the first probe to cross the heliopause (the limit of the heliosphere), a historic stage which marks the transition between the solar wind and interstellar space. At this point, she collected data on cosmic rays, high-energy particles originating from outside our Solar System, providing clues about their origin and behavior. In addition, the probes measured the interstellar magnetic field, which enriched our understanding of the structures and dynamics of magnetic fields beyond the heliosphere.
Before their interstellar observations, Voyager 1 and 2 also photographed the planets of our Solar System, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, as well as their moons. These images then revealed fascinating details about the geology and atmosphere of these celestial bodies, enriching our knowledge of the formation and evolution of the Sun's planetary system.
