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- NASA sent a message to Voyager 2, which is currently traveling in interstellar space, and the decade-long spacecraft responded.
- Voyager 2 launched in the late 1970s and has remained in communication with its handlers on Earth ever since.
- The antenna that sent the message is currently being processed and finally repairs and updates will be completed in February 2021.
When NASA sends a spaceship skyward, it usually has a relatively short lifespan, all things considered. Maybe a few years, or maybe even a decade or even two, in special cases. The twins of NASA’s Voyager spacecraft, on the other hand, have indeed proven to be incredibly robust.
Voyager 2, which is over 43 years old at this point, has traveled outside our solar system since it launched in the late 1970s. NASA occasionally checked in with the spacecraft to get data from the few instruments that are still functional, but it all stopped in March of this year. It was then that the only radio antenna capable of reaching the spacecraft went offline for a series of repairs and upgrades. Now, in a short test of some new equipment installed on the dish, NASA has sent a signal to Voyager 2 and despite being silent for several months and, you know, navigating deep space outside our system, the spacecraft has answered loudly and clearly.
The fact that the signal could be sent to the spacecraft and that it answered the call remotely are both incredible results. For one, the spacecraft’s extraordinary durability is a testament to its design and construction, and it is undeniably an engineering marvel.
On the other hand, sending a signal to a spacecraft that has since left our solar system is a feat in itself. Deep Space Station 43’s antenna is the only one capable of communicating with Voyager 2 now that it is accelerating into space billions of miles from Earth. These are truly impressive results, both made by NASA more than four decades apart.
“What makes this task unique is that we are working at all levels of the antenna, from the ground-level pedestal to the feedcones in the center of the dish that extend over the edge,” Brad Arnold of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a declaration. “This test communication with Voyager 2 definitely tells us that things are in line with the work we are doing.”
Unfortunately, the work on the plate is not completely finished yet. The test went well and Voyager 2 responded as expected, but the dish won’t actually be finished until February 2021. However, there are only a few months left and NASA is expected to establish a communications link with its treasured deep space probe the as soon as possible. after.
Mike Wehner has been reporting on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in VR, wearables, smartphones and the technology of the future. Most recently, Mike worked as a Tech Editor at The Daily Dot and appeared on USA Today, Time.com, and countless other websites and print media. His love of reportage is second only to his addiction to games.
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