NASA detects communication problems with Voyager 1, launched in 1977.

US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recorded problems with communication with the Voyager 1 space probe for exploring the solar system. The probe was launched in 1977, with an initial five-year mission. However, then NASA increased the period of operation with this probe, which has already become one of the record holders for flight duration and sending scientific data to Earth.

Currently, the probe is located near the solar system, so signals from it take a particularly long time to arrive. The first violations were recorded on November 14 and are similar to a short-term computer glitch. Currently, NASA specialists are sending commands to Voyager 1 to reboot the on-board system, but so far this has not brought results. In 1981, similar problems were already observed with the probe, and then they were solved.

Last week NASA managed restore the operation of another old-timer of research – the Hubble Space Telescope. It entered safe mode and suspended scientific observations on November 23 due to incorrect readings from one of its gyroscopes. Two weeks later, Hubble was able to get back on track. The telescope, named after American astronomer Edwin Hubble, was launched into Earth orbit in April 1990.

Evgeny Khvostik