The Voyager-1 probe, a space probe that crosses the boundaries of the Solar System, is sending out very strange signals. According to NASA, the spacecraft’s instruments work flawlessly, but the system responsible for moving and guiding the probe (AACS for short) seems to be confused for some reason. Science alert Scientific portal.
AACS is necessary for Voyager-1’s antenna to face our planet and thus transmit data back to Earth from its surroundings. The spacecraft crossed the boundaries of the solar system years ago and is currently traveling in interstellar space.
According to Susan Dodd, a scientist in charge of NASA’s Voyager program, puzzles of this kind are not at all exceptional at this point. Both vehicles have a lifespan of approximately 45 years, well above their originally expected run times.
According to NASA, Voyager 1 and its sister Voyager 2 are technically flawless.
Voyager-1 was launched into space in 1977 and has been sending data back to Earth ever since. It’s been drifting in interstellar space since 2012, pushing the boundaries of the solar system. It is currently more than 23 billion kilometers from our planet, which makes it the most man-made object.
Engineers at the US space agency say that AACS transmits randomly generated data to the center, which is not in line with what is actually happening on board.
Although the system data shows otherwise, the spacecraft’s antenna is well pointing at Earth, so Voyager-1 receives and carries out commands sent from the center. It is also important that the probe does not enter safety mode, in which case only Voyager-1 will be able to perform the tasks necessary for its operation.
Until we have a better understanding of the nature of the problem, the team will not be able to predict how long the spacecraft will be able to collect and transmit scientific data.” I wrote in a statement issued by NASA.
Maintaining Voyager-1 is not an easy task because of the distance, it takes about 20 hours and 33 minutes for the spacecraft to receive a command, and it takes the same amount of time to get an answer. However, the engineers are optimistic and hope that they can solve the problem with AACS.
