The two Voyager probes are mankind’s most distant outposts – and a marvel of robust engineering. The space probes launched 45 years ago are still working despite their great age and are collecting unique data from the outer edge of our solar system with their particle and radiation detectors. Both have now reached interstellar space, exploring regions never explored before. So that they can continue to do this for as long as possible, Nasa has already initiated an energy saving program for the space oldies.
Now, however, data from Voyager 1 is puzzling NASA. Because the probe, which is around 23.3 billion kilometers away, sends strangely chaotic telemetry data to earth. At first glance, the information from the attitude control system (Attitude Articulation and Control System, AACS) indicates a system failure, but does not match the otherwise smooth functioning of the probe, as NASA announced in May.
Among other things, the attitude control system ensures that the powerful main antenna of the space probe is always pointed precisely at the earth so that communication can still function over this enormous distance. Voyager 1 sends its scientific data to Earth via this radio link, and the ground team uses it to send new commands and program supplements to the space probe.
The strange thing, however, is that although the AACS sends nonsensical data, the probe works perfectly normally. She transmits the data from her scientific instruments and responds to earthly commands. The signal strength of the radio link is also high, so Voyager 1’s main antenna must still be pointing towards the earth. The AACS also did not cause any error messages and the on-board protection program did not start either, as NASA reports.
But then what is the problem? The Voyager ground team is currently investigating the possible cause of this phenomenon. The team believes Voyager 1’s attitude control system has yet to work correctly, but it’s unclear why it’s sending this messy and apparently randomly generated data. The engineers are now trying to determine whether this data comes directly from the AACS or whether another subsystem is responsible for it.
“Such a mystery is almost expected at this stage of the Voyager mission,” said Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in May. “After all, both space probes are now almost 45 years old and are therefore functioning well beyond the originally planned mission duration. They are also in interstellar space – a region of intense radiation where no human spacecraft has ever traveled before.”
However, the Nasa engineer is confident that the problem can be solved with the AACS data. If it is not clear where the error is or if it cannot be fixed, you can switch to one of the reserve systems, explains Dodd. Because both Voyager probes are equipped with multiple redundant hardware that can step in as a replacement in the event of a defect or failure. Voyager 1 already benefited in 2017 when idle flight control thrusters were turned on to replace declining attitude control thrusters.
Because the scientific instruments of both Voyager probes have been working properly so far and are collecting valuable data from interstellar space, NASA plans to keep the space probes in operation for as long as possible – in any case beyond 2025.
Quelle: Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory
This article was written by Nadja Podbregar
The original to this post “Nasa puzzles: Space probe sends completely confused signals to Earth” comes from scinexx.
