The spacecraft lost contact due to NASA’s oversight has begun transmitting data back to Earth since August 4.
The Voyager 2 spacecraft has reestablished communication with Earth and is operating normally. NASA’s long-standing Voyager 2 mission was launched from Earth in 1977 and is currently 19.9 billion kilometers away. The spacecraft lost contact with NASA after a series of accidental commands caused Voyager 2’s antenna to tilt 2 degrees off Earth on July 21, according to Live Science.
Voyager 2 entering interstellar space. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech).
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA received a “heartbeat” signal from the spacecraft on August 1, enabling mission controllers to confirm that the probe was still operational, despite not being able to communicate fully with it. Voyager 2 is programmed to self-correct its orientation several times a year, with the next adjustment scheduled for October this year.
On August 4, JPL announced that NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia, could send commands into interstellar space, helping to realign the spacecraft’s direction and point its antenna back toward Earth. Mission controllers had to wait 37 hours to confirm the command’s success. According to JPL, the spacecraft has begun transmitting scientific and telemetry data, demonstrating that it is functioning normally and remains on its planned trajectory.
Voyager 2 was launched into space from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 20, 1977. After flying past the four gas giant planets of the Solar System from the 1970s to the 1990s, it entered interstellar space on December 10, 2018. Its twin, Voyager 1, is also still operational, traveling 24 billion kilometers from Earth. Voyager 1 was the first object to escape the Sun’s gravitational influence in 2012.
Both spacecraft are gradually losing power from their radioisotope thermoelectric generators, but engineers have made several adjustments to conserve their systems. Heating devices have been turned off, and in April 2023, they disabled a regulator on Voyager 2. These measures allow the spacecraft’s power supply to last longer, enabling data collection to continue at least until 2026.
