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NASA ’s Voyager 1 interstellar probe is finally retort usable data from all four of its science legal document , scientists say .
The fix comes seven months after the investigation went off the rails and started talking gibberish , NASA spokesperson said in astatementon June 13 .
An artist’s concept of the Voyager 1 spacecraft.
The spacecraftwent haywire in November 2023and get sending cockeyed signals following a technical issue with one of its three onboard computers . Engineerspartially correct the glitchin April after sending a command to Voyager 1 ’s flight data subsystem ( FDS ) , which is responsible for for neatly package science information before the spacecraft beam them to Earth . The command prompt Voyager 1 tosend back its first decipherable messagein four months , enabling engine driver to locate the problem .
After locate the glitch on a exclusive computer chip , the squad then devised a workaround to falsify the FDS ' computer code remotely — from jillion of miles aside — and begin restoring Voyager ’s instruments to working order of magnitude .
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Two of Voyager 1 ’s four skill instrumentsresumed returning operational data in May , and after some further tinkering , all four are now back in business , the bureau said . The instruments are creditworthy for gather entropy about blood plasma wave , magnetic fields and particles in interstellar space .
While Voyager 1 ’s data systems are back up and running , further work is needed to fully restore the spacecraft , according to the statement . Engineers still require to resynchronize timekeeping software that enable all three onboard computers to fulfill commands at the same fourth dimension , for example . The team will also perform sustentation on the probe ’s digital tape registrar , which store data for the plasma undulation musical instrument .
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Voyager 1 is zoom through interstellar infinite more than 15 billion knot ( 24 billion kilometers ) from Earth . Interstellar place is the region outside the heliosphere — the protective house of cards created by the sun ’s magnetic fields and winds . The spacecraft is so far away , engineers have to look 22.5 hours for their commands to reach it and another 22.5 hr for the response .
Voyager 1 and its twin probe , Voyager 2 , have been cruising through space for well-nigh 47 years . They are NASA ’s long - running spacecraft and the most remote human - made objects in creation .
