Voyager 1 spacecraft. from NASAIntrigued by scientists from the American Space Organization.
That’s because Voyager, Which is the farthest object ever launched by man from EarthThere is a problem with its spatial guidance system, which, according to scientists, It’s not reflecting what’s really happening to him.
according to NASA, Although the equipment is working normallyReceiving and executing orders from the organization, data from its Attitude Control and Articulation System (AACS) The agency’s computers are pointing to information that appears to be “randomly generated” Or that doesn’t reflect “Any possible situation AACS can happen”.
“At this stage of Voyager’s mission, it is a mystery how it has been part of its trajectory in some ways,” said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager 1 and 2 project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASAin a statement.
It is the precise working of the AACS that also guarantees the correct positioning of Voyager’s antenna, which is always pointed toward Earth. Because Voyager 1’s signal did not weaken, Voyager 1’s engineers NASA Confident that the antenna remains in its normal orientation.
But the probe is outside the Solar System, in so-called interstellar space (23.3 billion kilometers from us), and because of this, it takes scientists about two days to send a message to Voyager 1 and receive a response from it.
For this reason, NASA It will continue to monitor the probe’s signals over the coming days to determine if the erroneous data is coming directly from the AACS or any other communication system.
“The spacecraft is about 45 years old, which is much more than the mission designers anticipated. We’re also in interstellar space — a high-radiation environment that hasn’t been investigated before. So we have some big challenges for the engineering team. But I think if there’s a way to solve this AACS problem, our team will figure it out,” Dodd said.
Experts also don’t rule out that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory team cannot find the cause of the discrepancy, but guarantee that if it does, optimization can be done.
Now, if the origin of the mystery is discovered, NASA This ensures that the problem can be fixed either through changes to the software of the equipment or through its unnecessary system usage.
Voyager project manager John Cassani holds an American flag that was attached to Voyager 2. The two probes also have phonograph discs with images showing life on Earth. — Photo: NASA
The probe, launched into space in 1977 with its “twin” Voyager 2 (which is moving smoothly), aims to collect data from interstellar space.
according to this NASAThis information will provide valuable insight into the workings of the heliosphere, the barrier the Sun forms around the planets in our Solar System.
