Communications of the ACM
NASA Detects Signal from Voyager 2 After Losing Contact Due to Wrong Command
While the heartbeat signal has reassured NASA that the Voyager 2 probe is still working, it is not yet responding to new commands.
Credit: NASA
The U.S. National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) reported detecting a signal from the Voyager 2 probe more than a week after transmission ceased due to a command error.
The command redirected the spacecraft's antenna two degrees away from Earth, severing contact; NASA said a routine scan of the sky detected Voyager 2's "heartbeat" signal, indicating it continues to broadcast and is in "good health."
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the agency will try to reestablish contact when Australia's Canberra dish sends the correct command toward the probe's antenna.
Software commands from Earth take 18 hours to cross the more than 12-billion-mile gap to reach Voyager 2.
From The Guardian (U.K.)
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