- NASA fired a message to Voyager 2, which is currently traveling in intercellular space, and the decades-old spacecraft responded.
- Voyager 2 was launched back in the late 1970’s and has been in communication with its handlers on Earth ever since.
- The messaging dish is currently being worked on and will eventually be repaired and upgraded in February 2021.
When NASA launches a spacecraft into the sky, it usually has a short life span, all things considered. Maybe a few years, or maybe a decade or two, in special cases. On the other hand, NASA’s Voyager spacecraft twins have proven themselves in an incredible way.
Travel 2, Which is now more than 43 years old, has been traveling outside our solar system since its inception in the late 1970s. NASA has repeatedly tested the spacecraft to retrieve data on some of the devices that are still in operation, but all stopped in March of this year. That’s when the only radio antenna capable of reaching the spacecraft flew offline for a series of repairs and upgrades. Now, in a brief test of some of the new equipment being installed on the bowl, NASA fired a signal to Voyager 2, and despite months of silence, and you know, going deep into our system The spacecraft answered aloud. And clear.
The fact that the signal could have been sent to the spacecraft and that it responded to distant calls are both great achievements. For one, the remarkable age of the spacecraft is a testament to its design and construction, and it is undoubtedly an engineering marvel.
On the flip side, not firing a spacecraft signal that has left our solar system is a feat in itself. The Deep Space Station 43 Dish is capable of communicating with a single Voyager 2 that is now moving rapidly at billions of miles from Earth. These are some of the most remarkable achievements, both made by NASA over four decades.
“What makes this work unique is that we are working on all levels of the antenna, from the ground floor to the feedconus in the center of the bowl that extends over the rim,” said NASA’s Brad Arnold jet propulsion. The laboratory said in a statement: “This test communication with Voyager 2 definitely tells us that things are on track with what we are doing.
Unfortunately, the work on the bowl is not yet complete. The test went well and Vizier 2 responded as designed, but the bowl won’t actually finish until February 2021. However, it is only a few months away, and NASA should establish a communication link with a deep space probe instead. Later.
Mike Wehner has been covering technology and video games for the past decade, including news and trends about VR, wearables, smartphones and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as Technical Editor at Daily Dot, and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and countless other web and print outlets. His love of reporting is second only to his game addiction.
