Communication with Voyager 2, which is in interstellar space, has been restored
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports a partial restoration of communication with the Voyager 2 probe, which was launched more than forty years ago.
The only antenna in the world that can transmit commands aboard the Voyager 2 is the DSS43 (Deep Space Station 43) located in Canberra (the capital of Australia). However, this 70-meter dish was turned off in mid-March for repairs and upgrades.
Because of this, for almost eight months, the Voyager 2 station was in independent flight mode. Scientists could only receive certain information from the spacecraft, but not send control commands.
And now it is reported that on October 29, during a test run of the DSS43, the specialists established a connection with the Voyager 2 probe. The device responded to the request and executed the commands received without any problems.
Thus, the conducted communication session indicates that Voyager 2 successfully survived the period of silence of the ground control point. The updated DSS43 system is planned to be fully operational in February next year.
We add that the Voyager 2 station was launched back in 1977 to study the distant planets of the solar system. Now the probe is located in interstellar space at a distance of about 18.8 billion kilometers from Earth.
