The Voyager 2 space probe has been communicating with Earth since it launched in 1977, but an unexpected event has caused a pause in communication.
According to NASA, a series of planned commands sent to the space probe on July 21 caused the antenna to point 2 degrees away from Earth, making it unable to receive commands or transmit data.
Voyager 2 is currently located more than 12.3 billion miles away from Earth, which means that communication between the space probe and NASA’s Deep Space Network has been interrupted. The data sent by the spacecraft is no longer reaching the DSN, and ground controllers are not able to send commands to Voyager 2.
However, the mission team is not worried about the situation. Voyager 2 is programmed to reset its orientation multiple times a year to keep its antenna pointing at Earth. The next reset is scheduled for Oct. 15, and once that happens, communication should resume as normal.
Despite the pause in communication, Voyager 2 is still on its planned trajectory, and the mission team is confident that it will remain that way during this quiet period. Voyager 1, on the other hand, which is almost 15 billion miles away from Earth, is still operating normally.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, a division of Caltech, built and operates the Voyager space probe. The Voyager missions are a part of the NASA Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
The Voyager space probe has been exploring the outer Solar System and the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space since its launch in 1977. It has provided valuable information about Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the outermost reaches of our solar system.