Launched in August 1977, Voyager 2 has been a cosmic voyager, exploring all the gas giants – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, with the last encounter being in 1989. Post its planetary tour, Voyager 2 embarked on a never-returning journey, adventuring into the outer realms of the Solar System. In 2018, it crossed the heliosphere boundary, marking its entry into interstellar space. More than half a century after its launch, the resilient probe continues to transmit data back to Earth.
However, on July 21, a sequence of commands dispatched by NASA unintentionally caused the probe's antenna to deviate by 2 degrees from its original position. While the probe continued to transmit data, it was no longer directed at Earth, making it impossible to send commands from Earth asking the probe to realign.
The mission scientists remained unfazed. Voyager 2 is designed to perform periodic resets of its antenna positioning a few times annually, naturally returning it to its original position. The upcoming reset was slated for October 15.
On August 1, using the Deep Space Network's antennas, the scientists managed to intercept a faint signal from Voyager 2. Despite the signal being too weak to be decoded into data, it suggested that the probe maintained its trajectory and was still in operational condition – a remarkable feat for a probe that's been active for over 50 years. The astronomers then attempted to transmit signals with the hope that the probe would receive them and adjust its antenna.
On August 4, NASA verified the successful execution of the operation and the reestablishment of contact with Voyager 2. Presently, the probe is approximately 19.9 billion kilometers from Earth, or 18.5 light hours away. This implies that the signal took 18.5 hours to reach the probe. Consequently, the astronomers had to endure a 37-hour wait after the initial signal was dispatched to confirm if the probe had reestablished contact.
Credit: NASA, JPL.
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