Voyager-1 continues to send meaningless signals, leaving NASA at a dead end

Recently, NASA specialists admitted that they are unable to resolve the issue that has occurred aboard the Voyager-1 probe. Since November 2023, the spacecraft has been transmitting a alternating set of zeros and ones instead of onboard telemetry and scientific data. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that none of the original development team members remain to help diagnose the malfunction. Therefore, they will have to take risks by sending unclear commands to the probe.

This year marks the 47th anniversary of both the Voyager-1 and its twin, Voyager-2. Both have aged, and it's not surprising that the onboard equipment of the furthest-reaching Voyager-1 has begun to malfunction. Currently, Voyager-1 is about 24 billion kilometers away from Earth. Voyager-2 is on a slightly different trajectory and has distanced itself from our planet by 19 billion kilometers. Radio signals take 22.5 hours one way to reach the first and 18 hours to reach the second. To simply send a command and receive a response requires almost two days.

The onboard equipment of Voyager-1 first began malfunctioning in May 2022, sending distorted telemetry to Earth. The problem was eventually fixed, and to avoid such issues in the future, NASA engineers prepared a software patch. The patch was installed on Voyager-2 as the less critical spacecraft, and it was decided to install the patch on Voyager-1 later if Voyager-2 did not encounter any problems. It is unknown for certain whether the patch was eventually installed on Voyager-1. Nonetheless, since November 2023, the NASA ground team has been unable to receive any information from the probe, making not only scientific work impossible but also basic control of the probe. This completely deprives NASA of the ability to rectify the situation.

According to Suzanne Dodd, the project manager for Voyager, the team is searching through old manuals and attempting to "get into the heads of the original developers and figure out why they designed something a certain way and not another." Operators have been cautious in choosing commands to send to the probe so far, but in the future, it seems they will have to make riskier decisions.

It is also worth noting that the plutonium power sources aboard the Voyagers are approaching complete depletion. Ideally, they can power the spacecraft's equipment in an economical mode until 2027. However, this also requires the ability to manage, for example, by disabling certain less valuable scientific equipment. While this still works with Voyager-2, Voyager-1, having lost control, may be doomed. If it does not restore telemetry transmission to Earth, its battery will discharge in about a year or so.