Voyager 1 has stopped sending data to Earth

   MADRID, 12 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

NASA is working to resolve a problem with one of the three computers aboard the aging interstellar spacecraft Voyager 1, called the flight data system (FDS).

The spacecraft, launched in 1977, receives and executes commands sent from Earth; However, the FDS does not communicate properly with one of the probe's subsystems, called the telecommunications unit (TMU). "As a result, no scientific or engineering data is sent to Earth."

Among other things, the FDS is designed to collect data from scientific instruments as well as engineering data on the health and status of the spacecraft. It then combines that information into a single "packet" of data that the TMU sends back to Earth. The data is in the form of ones and zeros, or binary code. Variable combinations of two numbers are the basis of all computer language.

Recently, the TMU began transmitting a repeating pattern of ones and zeros as if it were "stuck." After ruling out other possibilities, the Voyager team determined that the source of the problem is the FDS. Last weekend, the team attempted to restart the FDS and return it to the state it was in before the problem began, but the spacecraft is still not returning usable data, NASA reports.

It could take several weeks for engineers to develop a new plan to fix the problem. Launched in 1977, the spacecraft and its twin, Voyager 2, are the two longest-operating spacecraft in history. Finding solutions to the challenges facing probes often involves consulting decades-old original documents written by engineers who did not anticipate the problems emerging today. As a result, it takes time for the team to understand how a new command will affect spacecraft operations to avoid unintended consequences, the space agency explains.

Additionally, orders from mission controllers on Earth take 22.5 hours to reach Voyager 1, which is exploring the outer regions of our solar system more than 15 billion miles from Earth. That means the engineering team has to wait 45 hours to get a response from Voyager 1 to determine whether a command had the desired result.