In March 2023, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory identified a malfunctioning chip as the cause of the Voyager 1 probe’s inability to send readable data back to Earth. The spacecraft had stopped transmitting usable information since November of that year, despite continuing to receive commands from controllers. Engineers at JPL developed a coding solution to fix the issue within the computer system’s limited memory resources, and now Voyager 1 is providing data on its engineering systems.
The next step for the spacecraft is to resume sending scientific information, which will provide valuable insights into its current condition and potential future trajectory. Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space in 2012 and is currently over 15 billion miles away from Earth. Messages sent to the spacecraft take approximately 22.5 hours to reach it, making communication with the probe challenging but not impossible.
In addition to its scientific mission, Voyager also carries Golden Records, 12-inch gold-plated copper disks containing information about Earth intended for extraterrestrial beings. Selected by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan, these records include a map of the solar system, a piece of uranium as a radioactive clock, and instructions on how to play the record. They also contain encoded images, music, and sounds meant to represent life on Earth.
Despite its incredible distance from home, Voyager continues to be an important tool for scientists studying our solar system and beyond. Its power sources are expected to run out around 2025, after which it will continue traveling through the Milky Way potentially indefinitely, though it will no longer be able to communicate with Earth or receive updates on its mission status.
