The Voyager 1 spacecraft suddenly 'talked' to Earth again
Apr 23, 2024
New York [USA], Aril 23: NASA said the Voyager 1 spacecraft, about 24 billion km from Earth, suddenly sent back useful information after many months.
The US Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) said on April 22 that the Voyager 1 spacecraft , the furthest-traveling man-made object in space, is sending back useful information after months of broadcasting meaningless information.
This spacecraft stopped sending readable data from November 14, 2023, although ground control experts said Voyager 1 could still receive commands from them.
In March, teams at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered that a malfunctioning chip was to blame, so they sent out a smart coding fix that could work under limited conditions. memory mechanism of 46-year-old computer systems.
"The Voyager 1 spacecraft is sending usable data about the status of the onboard technical systems. The next step is for the spacecraft to begin sending science data," according to NASA.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is currently the farthest spacecraft from Earth at a distance of about 24 billion km. In 2012, it became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space.
NASA's other spacecraft, Voyager 2, has traveled more than 20.3 billion km, after leaving the solar system in 2018.
Their exceptionally long lifespans have meant that the two spacecraft have provided additional insights into the solar system and beyond after achieving their initial flyby goals of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Neptune and Neptune decades ago.
Both spacecraft carry gold-plated copper discs to convey the story of our world to aliens.
These include a map of our solar system, a piece of uranium that serves as a radioactive clock that allows the receiving party to know the spacecraft's launch date, and symbolic instructions that convey how to play the recording.
The content was selected for NASA by a committee chaired by legendary astronomer Carl Sagan, and included encrypted images of life on earth, as well as music and sounds.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
