New Delhi, August 2, 2023: In an astounding turn of events, NASA’s Voyager 2 probe, which has been exploring the outer planets and venturing beyond the solar system since its launch in 1977, sent a reassuring “heartbeat” signal to Earth after mission control mistakenly cut contact, the US space agency revealed on Tuesday.
A sequence of planned commands sent to Voyager 2 on July 21 unintentionally caused the antenna to veer two degrees away from Earth, rendering it unable to transmit data or receive instructions from its mission control. Initially, the situation seemed unsolvable until an automated re-orientation maneuver was scheduled for October 15.
However, a last-ditch effort came into play when the Voyager team sought the help of the Deep Space Network, a network of massive radio antennas, along with some orbiting Earth. To their astonishment, this effort succeeded in re-establishing contact with the spacecraft. Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd expressed her elation, stating, “So we know the spacecraft is alive and operating. This buoyed our spirits.”
Despite the long wait until October 15, NASA is persevering in sending new commands to point the spacecraft’s antenna back towards Earth, although the chances of success are not high.
Voyager 2, a remarkable spacecraft, left the Sun’s protective magnetic bubble, known as the heliosphere, in December 2018 and is currently traversing the space between stars. Prior to its interstellar journey, it made significant discoveries during its flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Both Voyager spacecraft carry “Golden Records,” containing a treasure trove of information about Earth, intended to communicate the essence of our world to potential extraterrestrial beings. These records include encoded images, music, and sounds from Earth, carefully curated by a committee led by the esteemed astronomer Carl Sagan.
As the Voyagers continue to transmit valuable scientific data, their power banks are expected to be depleted by approximately 2025, marking the end of an extraordinary journey of exploration and communication with the universe beyond our solar system.
