Engineers Have Fixed the Error, but the Root Issue Remains Unresolved.
Nasa engineers have successfully resolved an error encountered by Voyager 1, the spacecraft currently journeying through interstellar space and continuing to send signals back to Earth.
Illustration of Voyager 1.
Earlier this year, the Attitude and Articulation Control System (AACS) transmitted distorted data regarding Voyager 1’s health and ongoing operations, even though the spacecraft was functioning normally. Investigations revealed that the rest of the spacecraft was stable and continued to collect and send research data back to the ground station.
Following an investigation, NASA experts identified the source of the issue: AACS had transmitted data through a system that had been inactive for many years, corrupting the information sent back. Voyager project director Suzanna Dodd decided to address the issue cautiously by sending a command for the computer to transmit data through the system that was still in use.
Engineers are unclear why AACS sent data through a defunct system; they suspect the command may have originated from another computer on the spacecraft. If this is the case, the fault in Voyager 1 still lies within an unidentified system.
The team of experts has confirmed they will continue to investigate the root cause, while assuring that the error will not affect the spacecraft’s condition.
As of now, Voyager 1 and 2 have been exploring the Solar System for 45 years. Both spacecraft are currently traveling through interstellar space, the outer region of the solar system, a bubble of high-energy particles and magnetic fields emitted by the Sun. The data sent back by the spacecraft will help us continue exploring a “pristine” region of space, unaffected by any stars.
