NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, which has been sending back scientific data for over 50 years, recently began sending usable engineering data back to Earth. This breakthrough comes after engineers successfully worked around a damaged memory chip that made the probe’s engineering and science data unusable, presenting a significant challenge for engineers.
The failure of the memory chip made it impossible to transfer the code from a single location due to size constraints. To solve this problem, engineers broke the code into sections, adjusted them to work together and distributed them to different parts of the FDS. This innovative solution allowed for the successful relocation of the packaging code responsible for the spacecraft’s engineering data on April 18 and confirmed on April 20.
Currently over 15 billion miles away from Earth, communication with Voyager 1 involves a significant delay of approximately 22.5 hours. However, despite this delay, Dr. Garry Hunt, an original Voyager scientist expressed his excitement about this achievement and noted that it would take time to resume scientific operations due to communication delays.
Moving forward, the rest of the affected software will be relocated in the coming weeks, allowing for the return of science data from the spacecraft. This achievement serves as a positive development for NASA amidst its budget troubles and highlights the remarkable longevity and foresight of past missions.
Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 and is still functioning today, making it one of NASA’s longest-lasting missions. The success of this mission is not only impressive but also serves as a reminder of how important it is to invest in space exploration programs that have long-term benefits for humanity.