The resurrection of Voyager 1, in the space between the stars

Keywords: Voyager 1, interstellar

The mysteries of the Universe continue to be unveiled thanks to a probe that, after a concerning period of silence, is speaking again. Voyager 1, NASA's interstellar probe, is once more delivering usable data from all its instruments. This news delights the scientific community after several months of uncertainty.


It all began in November 2023 when Voyager 1 stopped transmitting coherent data due to a technical issue affecting one of its three onboard computers. It was only in April that engineers managed to identify the problem, thanks to a command sent to the probe's Flight Data Subsystem (FDS), allowing them to receive the first readable message after four months of silence.

The origin of the failure was a simple computer chip. By using commands sent from Earth, the engineers modified the FDS code, gradually restarting Voyager 1's scientific instruments. By May, two of the four instruments had begun sending usable data again, and after further adjustments, all instruments are now functioning normally.

However, the mission is not fully restored. Engineers still need to resynchronize the timing software, which is essential for the simultaneous execution of commands by the three onboard computers. Additionally, maintenance work is needed on the probe's digital recorder, which stores data from the Plasma Wave Science (PWS) instrument, to ensure optimal operation.

Voyager 1, located more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, navigates through interstellar space, a region beyond the heliosphere, the protective bubble created by magnetic fields and solar winds. At this distance, each command sent takes 22.5 hours to reach the probe, and another 22.5 hours are required to receive a response, making each operation a delicate task.


With nearly 47 years of travel under its belt, Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, are the longest-operating space probes and the most distant human-made objects from Earth.