NASA has received a "heartbeat" signal from its Voyager 2 space probe, after losing contact with the spacecraft last month, while it is billions of kilometers away from Earth. Last month, the probe's antenna moved two degrees away from Earth due to an erroneous command, resulting in the loss of communication, BBC reports.
However, during a routine sky scan on Tuesday, NASA detected a signal from Voyager 2. The spacecraft is currently located over 19.9bn km from Earth, traveling at about 55,346km/h in interstellar space.
Since July 21, Voyager 2 has been unable to receive commands or transmit data to NASA's Deep Space Network, a network of large radio antennas worldwide. Despite the limited contact, NASA confirmed that the spacecraft is still operational and in good health.
NASA used a large dish in Canberra, Australia, to detect any stray signals and connect to Voyager 2. The space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the Voyager missions, has been attempting to establish contact by sending the correct commands.
Apparently, Voyager 2 periodically resets its orientation to keep its antenna pointed towards the Earth, and the next reset is scheduled for October 15, which NASA hopes will allow communication to resume.
The probe, launched in 1977 to explore the outer solar system, has been floating in space since then. Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, are the only spacecraft to operate outside the heliosphere, the protective bubble created by the Sun's particles and magnetic fields. In 2018 and 2012 respectively, they entered interstellar space.
These probes, designed to explore Jupiter and Saturn during a rare planetary alignment that occurs every 176 years, have also flown by Neptune and Uranus. Voyager 1, located nearly 24.1bn km away from Earth and holds the record for humanity's most distant spacecraft.
In addition to their scientific instruments, each Voyager spacecraft carries a Golden Record containing sounds, images, and messages from Earth, intended to convey a story of our world to potential extraterrestrial beings.
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