The Voyager 1 spacecraft has returned to work after a malfunction
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has returned to its research functions and is once again transmitting scientific data to Earth after a failure in November 2023. This spring, the team was able to obtain engineering data on the condition of the probe and remotely repair two of the four research instruments. The remaining two needed some additional work, but for now all the tools are working fine.
"Voyager-1" is the farthest man-made object from Earth, which covered a distance of 24 billion kilometers during its 46 years of operation. It and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only way for scientists to explore interstellar space. Four instruments aboard Voyager 1 are collecting data on plasma waves, magnetic fields, and particles, allowing scientists to better understand how our solar system is organized and how far the heliosphere, the bubble of solar wind that shields us from large amounts of cosmic ionizing radiation, extends.
Recently, thanks to Voyager 1, a new class of plasma wave radiation was discovered. Also, data obtained from both Voyagers allowed researchers to create a model of the interaction between shock waves from the Sun and interstellar plasma.
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