NASA detects faint signal from Voyager 2 after wrong command snapped all contact in July

NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, the only second farthest spacecraft from Earth and the Sun in the universe, had lost contact with Earth last month. Launched in 1977, NASA lost contact with Voyager 2 because of a wrong command sent to it by accident that tilted its antenna 2 degrees away from the Earth. 

• This was kind of bad news for NASA as losing contact with the spacecraft meant no more data and lost progress. 
• It has been nearly 46 years since the spacecraft set off on its trajectory to explore the big unknown. It has since then successfully made it technically outside the solar system or at the edge of our solar system. Without contact, the spacecraft cannot send data back to Earth on its findings. 
• There is only one other spacecraft that is farther away in space than Voyager 2, which is the twin Voyager 1. 

You might have heard... Voyager 2 is taking a break from sending data until October. In the meantime, I'm out here, almost 15 billion miles (24 billion km) from Earth and doing fine! - V1

More info from our team: https://t.co/S3BFRo9Va9

— NASA Voyager (@NASAVoyager) July 28, 2023

"Heartbeat" signal

Earth to Voyager... 📡
The Deep Space Network has picked up a carrier signal from @NASAVoyager 2 during its regular scan of the sky. A bit like hearing the spacecraft's “heartbeat," it confirms the spacecraft is still broadcasting, which engineers expected. https://t.co/tPcCyjMjJY

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) August 1, 2023

• But like a light at the end of the tunnel, NASA picked up a faint "heartbeat" of a signal from Voyager 2 on Tuesday, August 1, during a regular scan of the sky. 
• Now, there is hope of re-establishing contact with the spacecraft. 
• NASA also assured that the spacecraft is in good health. However, signals from Earth and back take 18 hours on either side to receive. 
• Currently, Voyager 2 is more than 19.9 billion km away from Earth, where it is hurtling at the speed of 55,346 km/h through interstellar space. 

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• Interstellar space is the region between the atmospheres of different stars. It is right outside of the Sun's heliosphere, which is the end of the Sun's atmosphere, though this region is not empty and is filled with various charged particles and gases. 

Kinda like time traveling...!

You can now retrace our 45-year flight path and experience what it's been like for us to travel through the solar system. Check out this updated immersive visualization created by our human friends back home.https://t.co/5woQUdpvjB pic.twitter.com/BIZlhcc6Cl

— NASA Voyager (@NASAVoyager) September 2, 2022

• Researchers at NASA aren't worried about losing complete communication, now that they know the spacecraft remains in good health. 
• This is because Voyager 2 is programmed to reset its antenna orientation several times a year to ensure it is Earth-facing. The next reset is due on October 15. NASA says this "should enable communication to resume".
• Voyager 2 is also the only spacecraft ever to fly by the two ice-cold planets - Neptune and Uranus. 

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