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Almost exactly 46 years after launch, NASA has lost contact with its legendary Voyager 2 space probe, but hopes this is only temporary.
Voyager 2, launched in August 1977 to study the outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, is more than 20 billion kilometers from Earth.
But communications were lost late last month when flight controllers accidentally sent a wrong command that caused the antenna to tilt away from Earth.
The change interrupted communications between Voyager 2 and the global network of ground antennas that make up NASA’s Deep Space Network.
Voyager 2, officially humanity’s second most distant spacecraft, became the second man-made object to enter interstellar space.
NASA listens for Voyager 2’s every beep after losing contact with the spacecraft billions of miles away. The craft is pictured here at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 4, 1977, prior to launch 16 days later
Voyager 2 is nearly 12.4 billion miles (19.9 billion kilometers) from Earth. The twin Voyager 1, which is nearly 15 billion miles from Earth, continues to operate normally
But now nearly half a century old, Voyager 2 is in the final stages of its life, and NASA has reduced its ability to conserve energy.
The probe is expected to continue transmitting weak radio messages until at least the mid-2020s.
NASA has now conceded in one blog post that the antenna fault on July 21 led to what it calls a “communication break.”
Even though the spacecraft’s antenna shifted only 2 percent, it was enough to break contact, the agency said.
“A series of scheduled commands sent to NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft on July 21 caused the antenna to inadvertently point 2 degrees away from Earth,” it said.
“As a result, Voyager 2 is currently unable to receive commands or send data back to Earth.”
Though it’s considered a gamble, NASA said Deep Space Station 43 — its massive satellite dish in Australia’s capital Canberra — is on the lookout for any stray signals from Voyager 2.
In addition to being part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, Deep Space Station 43 is the only antenna on Earth capable of sending commands to Voyager 2.
Over the next week, the Canberra antenna will bombard Voyager 2’s vicinity with signals in the hopes of reaching its target, it said.
Deep Space Station 43 (pictured) – a huge satellite dish in the Australian capital Canberra – is searching for any stray signals from Voyager 2
But more than 12 billion miles away, it takes more than 18 hours for a response signal from Voyager 2 to reach Earth.
The twin spacecraft launched the same year, Voyager 1, is about 15 billion miles away, officially making it humanity’s most distant spacecraft, and continues to operate normally.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory – which manages the Voyager missions – hopefully stated that communications with Voyager 2 “should resume” once the spacecraft’s antenna is realigned with Earth.
Voyager 2 is programmed to reset its orientation several times a year to keep its antenna pointed at Earth.
The next reset will take place on Oct. 15, which JPL says should resume communications if it hasn’t already.
Engineers expect the Voyager 2 mission to “continue for years to come,” even if one of the five science instruments shuts down in 2026.
To keep those instruments running despite dwindling power, the aging spacecraft has begun using a small reservoir of backup power.
“The science data the Voyagers send back becomes more valuable the farther they are from the sun, so we’re definitely interested in keeping as many science instruments working for as long as possible,” said Linda Spilker, Voyager’s project scientist at JPL.
Both Voyagers were launched in 1977 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral. Voyager 2 (pictured) departed a month earlier than Voyager 1
An annotated image showing the various parts and instruments of NASA’s Voyager spacecraft design. Voyager 1 and its identical sister ship Voyager 2 were launched in 1977 to study the outer solar system and eventually interstellar space
Voyager 2 was launched in 1977 to explore the outer planets, just a few weeks before its identical twin, Voyager 1.
It has since become the only spacecraft to visit all four gas giant planets in our solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
In 1986, the Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Uranus, discovering previously unknown moons in the process.
Uranus’ icy moon Miranda is seen in this image from Voyager 2 on January 24, 1986. Miranda was discovered by Gerard Kuiper in February 1948
Neptune’s blue-green atmosphere is shown in greater detail than ever by the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it rapidly approaches its encounter with the giant planet
Evidence has also been found of oceans under the icy crusts of Europa and Enceladus, two moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
Voyager 2 and its twin remain the only spacecraft ever to operate outside the heliosphere, the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields generated by the sun.
Voyager 1 is still in contact with Earth and is now nearly 15 billion miles away, making it humanity’s most distant spacecraft.
Voyager 1 is known for returning one of the most revered astronomical images of all time – Light blue dotwhich shows our planet as a speck of dust in the vastness of space.