Voyager 1 restores contact with Earth after a 48-hour pause — Space.com

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, which is in interstellar space, independently restored contact with Earth after a nearly 48-hour pause. No signal was received from the spacecraft on October 18 and 19, but it reappeared on October 20, Space.com reports.

Engineers are determining the cause

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said specialists continue to determine the cause of the loss of communication. According to JPL's preliminary assessment, Voyager 1 may have entered a kind of safe mode. The team also found that one group of thrusters had shut down, after which backup thrusters automatically activated. This switch is provided for in the spacecraft's program in cases when onboard computers detect a problem with the active thrusters.

Voyager mission manager at JPL Karim Badaruddin noted that the team had observed such behavior by the spacecraft for the first time. He also stressed that at the current stage of the mission, engineers must be prepared for unforeseen situations.

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Nearly a light-day from Earth

Voyager 1 is approaching a distance of one light-day from Earth: the team needs almost a day to send a command to the spacecraft, and a response arrives about another day later. It is expected to be 25.89 billion kilometers from Earth on November 18.

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched in 1977 to study the planets of the Solar System. Both spacecraft are now operating in interstellar space, but their plutonium power sources are gradually losing power. In early September, engineers switched off three devices on Voyager 1 and replaced them with three less energy-intensive alternatives to extend the operation of scientific instruments.