For the first time in a long time, NASA scientists managed to send a series of commands to the 43-year-old Voyager 2 probe. Earlier, due to damage to the antenna used to control the probe, contact with it was lost for 7 months. Now, however, the ship responded to the scientists’ call.
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They made contact with the Voyager 2 spacecraft. It is over 18 billion kilometers from Earth
The antenna used to communicate with the spacecraft is located in the space complex NASA in Canberra, Australia. Since March, when it stopped working, its components have been modernized and the software has been updated. It turned out that the repair was successful.
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Voyager 2 is 18.8 billion kilometers from Earth. After sending the command, the scientists had to wait 34 hours for a response. The spacecraft accepted the assigned tasks and returned a message saying “hello”.
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NASA has repaired the space antenna. They can control the probe for the first time in 7 months
The Australian DSS43 satellite dish is one of the three main transmitters of the global Deep Space Network (DSN). The other two are located in Goldstone, California and Madrid. Successful communication with the probe suggests that the antenna will be fully operational in February 2021.
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Successful test communication with the Voyager 2 probe tells us that our work is going according to plan, said Brad Arnold, DSN network manager of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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Voyager 2 is so far south of Earth that antennas in the northern hemisphere are not in contact with it. The DSS43 antenna is the only one in the world with such high power. The researchers emphasize that this is why it was so important to modernize the Australian transmitter.
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DSS43 is to be used not only to control the Voyager 2 probe. It will also support scientists on missions to Mars. The antenna will be used to control the Perseverance rover that it lands on The red planet February 18, 2021.
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Watch also: Interesting anomaly in space. Voyager 2 data analysis
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