Voyager is sending out strange data from outside our solar system. What’s going on?

In an official announcement NASA We can read: “The interstellar explorer is operating normally, receiving and carrying out commands from Earth, as well as collecting and returning scientific data. But the readings from the Probe Articulation and Control System (AACS)) Do not reflect what is actually happening on the plane. “

This means that the probe is confused about its location at Outer Space.

AACS It is necessary to send data to NASA about the space in which Voyager is currently located. It keeps the antenna pointing straight towards the ground.

Susan Dodd, Voyager 1 and 2 project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said: She is about 45 years oldWhich is far beyond what the mission planners expected.”

Scientists report that the twin Voyager 2 spacecraft is behaving normally.

The probe was launched in 1977 to study the exoplanets of our planet Solar System. In return, they left our charter in 2012 and entered into interstellar space. Sensors continue to transmit data important to understanding how space works. It is currently located about 14.5 billion miles from Earth, making it the farthest man-made object from Earth.

According to NASA engineers, “AACS is still working, but the telemetry it displays is incorrect. For example, the data might look like randomly or not reflect any potential situation in which AACS might be. “

“Until the nature of the problem is better understood, the team cannot predict whether this could affect how long the spacecraft can collect and transmit scientific data,” NASA said.

The problem did not turn on the plane Failure protection systemswhich are designed to put the ship into “degraded mode”, a state in which only basic operations are performed. This gives engineers time to diagnose the problem.

“The Voyager 1 signal was also unaffected, indicating that the antenna remained in the recommended direction with respect to Earth.” – We read the statement.

Currently, the grass is thick Realize what is the nature of the problem. The spacecraft takes about two days to send messages to and from Earth to the spacecraft. So it may take a long time to test all possibilities.