NASA
Artist’s rendering of Voyager-2, the United States National Space Agency’s (NASA) space probe. On July 28, 2023, NASA announced it had lost contact with Voyager-2. On Tuesday (1/8/2023), NASA announced that the device could be traced again.
The officials and workers of the United States National Space Agency (NASA) are relieved. On Tuesday (1/8/2023), they announced that they were able to connect again with Voyager-2. The space explorer vehicle, equipped with gamelan recordings from the Mangkunegaran Temple, lost contact on July 21, 2023.
Launched in 1977, Voyager-2 was a headache for NASA officials a few weeks ago. One of the two spacecraft farthest from Earth was not contactable. The reason was that the officer at the control station sent the wrong command. As a result, Voyager-2’s antenna shifted 2 degrees away from Earth. Because the antenna is not pointed at Earth, Voyager-2 cannot send or receive data from Earth. If it doesn’t send data to Earth, the whereabouts of the vehicle is unknown, aka not tracked.
Voyager Program Manager Suzanner Dodd said the team on Earth was devastated by the glitch. Various ways tried to trace it. An array of Earth stations from the US to Australia is sending signals to the probe. Because Voyager-2 is almost 20 billion kilometers from Earth, it would take at least 18 hours from the time a command or signal was emitted from Earth to reach the probe. The barrage of signals was continuously emitted as long as Voyager-2 was not tracked.
Read also: Voyager 2 Alone to the Interstellar Space
Hopeless
Dodd said, the team almost gave up because there was no result from the barrage of signals. They have only one hope: October 15, 2023. There is an automatic reset on Voyager-2 every October 15th. One result of the rearrangement is that Voyager’s antennae are more orientated toward Earth.
The mechanism was designed because Voyager-2 is constantly moving through space. In order to continue to communicate with Earth, its communication devices need to be periodically aligned. In addition to automatically every October 15, alignment can also be done via commands sent from Earth.
Unfortunately, one of those orders can have disastrous results as it did two weeks ago. Fortunately, there is good news in the form of a return wave from Voyager-2 to the station on Earth. “Our spirits are rekindled,” said Dodd.
NASA
Parts of Voyager-2, the space probe belonging to the United States National Space Agency (NASA).
The first signal that the ground station picked up again was weak, like the spark of a match in the distance at night. However, this signal indicates that Voyager-2 is still there and is continuing to communicate with Earth.
Now, technicians are working on sending Voyager-2 antenna re-alignment commands. Orders, among other things, were dispatched from a station in Canberra, Australia. Even if the effort is not successful, the team will have to wait until October 15, 2023. “The waiting time is very long. So, we will continue to try to send orders,” said Dodd.
Gamelan and greetings
Until now, only Voyager-1 and Voyager-2 probes from Earth have ventured beyond the solar system. Due to its small internal memory, Voyager doesn’t store much data on the device. Any data captured, the majority in the form of images from the cameras on the spacecraft, are immediately sent to Earth. As the roaming sites were further away, it took longer for Voyager to communicate with Earth.
Also read: The power of the Voyager 2 vehicle is decreasing
One of the Voyager recordings is when the planets in the solar system are in a line. The alignment only occurs once every 176 years. Humans living in this generation are among the lucky ones because they have images from outer space when the cosmic phenomenon is taking place.
In fact, Voyager-1 and Voyager-2 were designed to travel the longest until 1981. This is because the estimate of fuel and propulsion is only for four years since launch. Therefore, when the probe is not transmitting and receiving signals, there is a suspicion that Voyager’s age has ended.
Apparently, the two rides that continue to survive until now. Thus, the Voyager program became NASA’s longest space exploration program and of course mankind. Voyager is equipped with a solar panel which is a source of energy for various electronic devices on the spacecraft. There are many devices and in that vehicle. When launched in 1977, Voyager was equipped with a compact disc filled with voices considered to be the best representatives of mankind.
NASA
Timeline of the NASA space explorer missions, Voyager-1 and Voyager-2
From Indonesia, two recordings were selected. First, the greeting ”Good evening ladies and gentlemen, goodbye, and see you next time.” Second, the recording of the piece “Puspawarna” composed by Adipati Mangkunegara IV.
The gamelan of one of the Javanese kings is considered a masterpiece of human civilization. Because of this, the gamelan was included in the sound recording on Voyager. Gamelan and various other recordings are inserted into Voyager in anticipation of the vehicle encountering other creatures in space. The footage is thought to be a friendly greeting from humanity on Earth to other beings in the universe that Voyager might encounter.
Until now, Voyager has not sent any signs of having crossed paths with extraterrestrial beings. Nevertheless, Voyager continued to roam without ever knowing where it ends. Maybe, someday somewhere, there are beings from other planets or galaxies finally heard the gamelan from Solo. (AFP/REUTERS/AP)
2023-08-02 12:33:38
#Wrong #Order #Voyager2 #Spacecraft #Tracked
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