Nearly two weeks after NASA lost contact with one of its Voyager probes, the space agency said it has detected a faint signal from the historic spacecraft launched in the 1970s to explore the far reaches of the solar system and beyond.
The array of giant radio network antennas known as the Deep Space Network was able to detect a carrier signal Tuesday from Voyager 2, which is how the probe sends data back to Earth from billions of miles away. Though the signal was not strong enough for any data to be extracted, the detection is a positive sign to scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California that the spacecraft is still operating despite the communications breakdown.
The detection also confirms that Voyager 2 is still on its planned trajectory, which is what NASA scientists had hoped and expected when they announced contact had been lost on July 21.
“A bit like hearing the spacecraft’s ‘heartbeat,’ it confirms the spacecraft is still broadcasting, which engineers expected,” JPL said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
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Where is Voyager 2?
Voyager 2, which is nearly 46 years into its mission, is roughly 12.4 billion miles from Earth. In 2018, the spacecraft left the heliosphere, which is the outer layer of particles and magnetic field created by the sun, according to NASA.
The agency provides an interactive diagram tracking Voyager 2’s path outside the solar system.
Routine commands lead to communications malfunction
NASA revealed last Friday that it had lost contact with Voyager 2 after mission control transmitted routine commands that inadvertently triggered a 2-degree change in the craft’s antenna orientation. As a result, the deep-space probe’s ability to receive commands or transmit data back to Earth from 12.4 billion miles away was disrupted.
It won’t be until Oct. 15 that Voyager 2 is scheduled to automatically reposition its antenna to ensure it’s pointed at its home planet. But in an effort to reestablish communications sooner, JPL said it will attempt to use an antenna to “shout” a command at Voyager 2 to point its antenna at Earth.
“This intermediary attempt may not work, in which case the team will wait for the spacecraft to automatically reset its orientation in October,” JPL said in a statement.
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Historic probes launched in the 1970s with ‘Golden Record’
Voyager 2’s twin craft, Voyager 1, is still broadcasting and transmitting data from 15 billion miles away.
The pioneering probes launched in 1977 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to explore planets in the outer solar system. In 2012, Voyager 1 was the first to reach interstellar space; Voyager 2 followed in 2018.
A NASA page documenting their travels says the Voyager probes remain the only human-made objects to ever enter the space between the stars.
Voyager 2 also has the distinction of being the only spacecraft to have explored Uranus and Neptune.
Should they encounter extraterrestrial life, both craft carry the famous “golden record,” functioning both as a time capsule and friendly Earthling greeting. The phonograph record − a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk − contains sounds, images, spoken greetings in 55 languages, and musical selections of various cultures and eras intended to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.
But even if contact is established with Voyager 2 in the coming months, the journeys of the iconic Voyager probe still faces an inevitable conclusion.
“Eventually, there will not be enough electricity to power even one instrument,” NASA said. “Then, Voyager 2 will silently continue its eternal journey among the stars.”
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com.
