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Originally Posted by Puppet Guy
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"The Voyager mission team at NASA has been able to detect a signal from Voyager 2 after losing contact with the spacecraft, which has been operating for nearly 46 years.
We enlisted the help of the (Deep Space Network) and Radio Science groups to help to see if we could hear a signal from Voyager 2,” said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “This was successful in that we see the ‘heartbeat’ signal from the spacecraft. So, we know the spacecraft is alive and operating. This buoyed our spirits.”
The signal, sent via the Deep Space Network, is basically an attempt to “shout” at Voyager 2 and try to get its attention, despite the fact that its antenna isn’t oriented in a way to receive the radio signal, according to NASA.
Given the distance between Voyager 2 and Earth, it takes about 18.5 hours for the signal to travel one way across the solar system to the spacecraft.
If the Earth-based signals don’t reach Voyager 2, the spacecraft is already programmed to reorient itself multiple times a year to keep its antenna pointing in Earth’s direction. The next reset was already scheduled for October 15, and the team is hopeful that this program will allow communications to resume with Voyager 2.
How the Voyager probes keep going and going decades after launch
“But that is a long time to wait, so (we) will try sending up commands several times prior to that date,”
It's alive!