Voyager 2, an enduring spacecraft on an interstellar mission and one of the oldest of its kind, has experienced a temporary loss of contact with Earth, presenting a surprising scenario that NASA seems unperturbed by. Currently positioned almost 20 billion kilometers away from its home planet, Voyager 2 continues its extended mission, with recent events seeing its antenna slightly oriented away from Earth.
Despite the interruption in communication, Voyager 2 retains its significant value to NASA, as the space agency continues to rely on its services to deepen its understanding of the galaxy.
Last Friday, NASA’s blog disclosed that the team had encountered a temporary loss of communication with Voyager 2, which now resides a staggering 19.9 billion kilometers away from Earth. The interruption was attributed to a series of commands sent to the spacecraft, causing its antenna to veer slightly away from the planet.
Considering the age of the technology, nearly 50 years old, one might assume that such a communication glitch could raise concerns about the spacecraft’s reliability. Nevertheless, Voyager 2 has been instrumental in expanding Earth’s knowledge of the galaxy, carrying on from where Pioneer 10 and 11 left off in their exploration of Jupiter and Saturn, while also providing invaluable insights into Neptune and Uranus.
In spite of the potential implications of a spacecraft’s ability to maintain contact with its home base, NASA’s blog post exhibits no signs of unease or apprehension. The reason for this is that Voyager 2 has a history of regularly resetting its orientation several times each year, realigning its antenna back towards Earth to re-establish communications.
According to Ars Technica, the spacecraft is scheduled for its next reset by October 15, and NASA remains confident that Voyager 2 will continue on its trajectory as planned. Thus, it is expected that normal operations will resume shortly for the enduring interstellar explorer.
