NASA reconnects with Voyager 2 probe through 'interstellar shout'

Interstellar shout sent from facility in Canberra, Australia; took 18.5hrs for commands to reach Voyager 2


Tech Desk August 06, 2023

NASA has finally reestablished communication with the Voyager 2 space.

Previously, the US government's independent agency lost contact with Voyager 2 on July 21 and sent mixed signals to Voyager 2 which caused its antenna to point two degrees away from Earth.

Things got better when NASA detected a faint signal from Voyager on Tuesday. The agency utilised its highest-power transmitter to send an "interstellar shout" that helped in improving the probe's antenna orientation.

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As a result, the communication was restored, it had announced on Friday.

The interstellar shout was sent from a facility in Canberra, Australia. It took 18.5 hours for commands to reach Voyager 2 whereas the return journey took 37 hours. For this reason, it took longer for the scientists to give any updates on the progress.

After the successful recovery, Voyager 2 began sending back data on August 4 at 12:29 a.m.

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