Voyager 1 reestablishes contact and continues toward a new record
Shutting down 3 devices and switching to lower-power alternatives will help the probe keep its scientific instruments operating for longer.
NASA reported that communications with Voyager 1 were restored after an unexpected failure in October. The most distant human-made object continues its flight and is approaching a new milestone: on November 18, the distance between it and Earth will reach 1 light-day—approximately 26 billion kilometers.
On October 18 and 19, NASA’s Deep Space Network was unable to receive a signal during 2 scheduled sessions. It reappeared on October 20, before engineers had sent commands to fix the malfunction. Communications have remained stable since then.
A preliminary check showed that 1 group of attitude-control thrusters had shut down, after which a backup group switched on automatically. This switch is provided for by the spacecraft’s protection system when a malfunction is detected. Engineers are continuing to determine what triggered it.
Shortly before that, the team successfully carried out a separate energy-saving operation called Big Bang. In September, specialists switched off 3 devices simultaneously and activated 3 less energy-intensive ones instead. The switch reduced power consumption while preserving the necessary heating of the spacecraft. A similar procedure on Voyager 2 was carried out approximately 6 weeks earlier.
The probes obtain electricity from radioisotope generators that convert the heat from plutonium decay. Their available power decreases by approximately 4 W each year, so engineers have to gradually shut down equipment.
The new power-supply configuration will allow Voyager 1 to preserve its scientific observations for longer. Without it, another instrument would have had to be switched off as early as summer 2027.
Reaching 1 light-day will not change the probe’s operating conditions, but it will vividly demonstrate the scale of its journey. A radio signal will take approximately 1 day to travel from Earth to the spacecraft, and the return signal will take just as long. Even the simplest exchange of messages will take almost 2 days.
