NASA Voyager 1 glitch sends nonsensical messages back to earth

NASA informs that the spacecraft, positioned 15 billion miles from Earth, is encountering a communication malfunction.

NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe, launched in 1977 on a mission originally meant to last five years, is now sending confusing data back to Earth after traveling billions of miles over nearly five decades. The spacecraft was initially designed to explore Jupiter and Saturn, but it has continued its journey into space, becoming the first human-made object to leave the solar system.

As of 2023, it takes more than 22 hours for signals from Voyager 1 to reach Earth. However, NASA has reported a communication glitch as the probe, located 15 billion miles away from our planet, is experiencing difficulties.

Voyager 1 has three onboard computers—one for flight data, collecting information from scientific instruments, and another for engineering data, serving as a coded health check for the spacecraft’s status.

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On Earth, NASA decodes the transmitted data, which is in binary code, a language using zeroes and ones to represent information. Binary code gets its name from relying on only two symbols.

The current issue arises as Voyager 1 is sending repetitive code snippets consistently. This repetition has raised concerns among scientists about a potential malfunction in the spacecraft.

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, responsible for managing robotic missions, acknowledged the problem on social media, stating, “The NASA Voyager team is investigating an issue with Voyager 1’s Flight Data System. The spacecraft is receiving and executing commands sent from Earth but not returning usable data.”

In the previous year, NASA decided to deactivate certain systems on both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 to extend their operational lifespan until their plutonium power sources are depleted. It is expected that these probes will remain functional until 2030, after which their transmitters and instruments will cease to function, leading to the shutdown of the spacecraft, drifting aimlessly through space.

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The @NASAVoyager team is investigating an issue with #Voyager1's Flight Data System. The spacecraft is receiving and executing commands sent from Earth but not returning useable data.

More on the evolving situation: https://t.co/SYuVX7lt45 pic.twitter.com/GWDFGfteQ4

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) December 12, 2023