NASA Restores Voyager 1 Data After 1 Failed Memory Chip Silenced Probe 16 Billion Miles Away
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · May 24
NASA Restores Voyager 1 Data After 1 Failed Memory Chip Silenced Probe 16 Billion Miles Away
1 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · May 24
Summary
Voyager 1 resumed sending coherent science and engineering data after JPL engineers bypassed a failed memory chip by splitting affected software into smaller pieces stored elsewhere in onboard memory.
The patch was transmitted on April 18, 2024, and confirmed working on April 20—a two-day cycle driven by the probe’s roughly 22.5-hour one-way signal time.
At about 16 billion miles from Earth, Voyager 1 already returns data at only around 160 bits per second and must handle many faults autonomously by entering a safe state.
The communications lag will deepen in November 2026, when Voyager 1 becomes the first human-made object more than one light-day away, pushing command-response cycles beyond 48 hours.
Both Voyager probes are also shutting down instruments to conserve dwindling power; Voyager 1 has two still operating, while Voyager 2—expected to reach one light-day in 2035—has three.