NASA restores communication with Voyager 1, 15 billion miles away, following a technical issue.

Jupiter and Saturn's Moons: Voyager 1 Discovers a Ring and Several Moons on Its Exit from the Solar System.

NASA restores communication with Voyager 1, 15 billion miles away, following a technical issue.
NASA restores communication with Voyager 1, 15 billion miles away, following a technical issue.
  • NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has resumed transmitting data following a technical problem in November.
  • Voyager 1 is traveling through interstellar space to gather data on plasma waves, magnetic fields, and particles.
  • Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are both over 12 billion miles away from Earth, with Voyager 1 being approximately 15 billion miles distant.

The most distant spacecraft from Earth, NASA's Voyager 1, is currently transmitting science data.

Voyager 1's four instruments are operational once again after a computer issue in November, according to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The team first received significant data from Voyager 1 in April, and recently instructed it to resume studying its surroundings.

Voyager 1 floats through blue-black space toward a distant star in this illustration provided by NASA.
This illustration provided by NASA depicts the most distant spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California announced this week that Voyager 1's four scientific instruments are back in business after a technical problem in November. (NASA via AP, File)

Since its launch in 1977, Voyager 1 has been traveling through interstellar space, the area between star systems. Prior to reaching this region, the spacecraft detected a thin ring around Jupiter and several of Saturn's moons. The spacecraft's instruments are designed to gather data on plasma waves, magnetic fields, and particles.

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, both in interstellar space, are over 15 billion and 12 billion miles away from Earth, respectively.

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