After 47 years since its launch, Voyager 1 continues to bring back vital data from beyond the Solar System.
In a recent announcement from NASA, the Voyager 1 spacecraft had to utilize its backup radio transmitter, which had been inactive since 1981.
The reason for this was that the spacecraft encountered communication issues recently and entered a protective mode to conserve energy.
The spacecraft continues to play a crucial role due to its data source from beyond the Solar System.
Subsequently, the spacecraft automatically turned off the primary X-band transmitter and switched to the secondary S-band transmitter, which consumes less power.
According to experts, the fault protection system of Voyager 1 may have been activated for various reasons, such as if the spacecraft exceeded its power supply capacity.
If that occurs, the spacecraft will shut down all non-essential systems to conserve energy and maintain its mission.
“The change in the radio transmission system occurred due to the spacecraft’s fault protection system,” NASA stated in a release. “This system automatically responds to issues onboard.”
NASA is currently analyzing the data sent back to clarify what happened to Voyager 1. They also shared that they intend to restore the historic spacecraft to normal operations.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in 2012, becoming the first spacecraft to cross the boundary of the Solar System.
Its time in deep space has affected the spacecraft’s instruments and caused an increasing number of technical issues.
Earlier this year, the NASA research team had to fix a separate communication glitch that caused the spacecraft to send back meaningless messages.
Nonetheless, NASA will not “abandon” Voyager 1.
The agency has repeatedly affirmed that despite the spacecraft’s advanced age and the vast distance from Earth, it still plays a crucial role due to its data source from beyond the Solar System.
