Skip to main content

Voyager 2 spacecraft is going solo for the next 11 months

NASA is performing upgrades to its deep space communication system, which will leave the Voyager 2 probe without commands from Earth for 11 months. The plan is to add new capabilities to NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), which requires taking the system offline. During this time, Voyager 2 will continue to explore interstellar space and to send data back to Earth. However, technicians won’t be able to send any commands to the spacecraft.

Recommended Videos

Voyager 2 did recently suffer a glitch which caused it to use too much power after a failed rotation maneuver. However, that issue was fixed and the craft is now operating as normal.

A quiescent state

Now, in preparation for the upgrades to the Deep Space Network, NASA engineers will put Voyager 2 into a “quiescent state,” in which it does not expect to receive signals and but can send science data back to Earth.

An artist's concept depicts one of NASA's Voyager spacecraft entering interstellar space
This artist’s concept depicts one of NASA’s Voyager spacecraft entering interstellar space, or the space between stars. Interstellar space is dominated by the plasma, or ionized gas, that was ejected by the death of nearby giant stars millions of years ago. NASA/JPL-Caltech

“We put the spacecraft back into a state where it will be just fine, assuming that everything goes normally with it during the time that the antenna is down,” Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager and JPL Director for the Interplanetary Network, said in a statement. “If things don’t go normally — which is always a possibility, especially with an aging spacecraft — then the onboard fault protection that’s there can handle the situation.”

To pick up data from Voyager 2, three 111-foot antennas have been configured to listen for its signals. Elsewhere in the network, the 70-meter-wide (230-feet) radio antenna in Canberra, Australia will be upgraded to make it more sensitive and more reliable. “Obviously, the 11 months of repairs puts more constraints on the other DSN sites,” said Jeff Berner, Deep Space Network’s chief engineer. “But the advantage is that when we come back, the Canberra antenna will be much more reliable.”

With the upgrades performed, the DSM will also be able to support future NASA missions such as the planned Moon to Mars project. “The maintenance is needed to support the missions that NASA is developing and launching in the future, as well as supporting the missions that are operating right now,” Dodd said.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
NASA has a new dish for talking to spacecraft in the far reaches of space
Deep Space Station 56, or DSS-56, is a powerful 34-meter-wide (112-foot-wide) antenna that was added to the Deep Space Network's Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex in Spain in early 2021.

Deep Space Station 56, or DSS-56, is a powerful 34-meter-wide (112-foot-wide) antenna that was added to the Deep Space Network's Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex in Spain in early 2021. NASA/JPL-Caltech

When NASA needs to communicate with its spacecraft which are exploring our solar system and beyond, it sends and receives messages using a network of antennas called the Deep Space Network (DSN). And as craft like the Voyager probes travel deeper into space -- as well as more and more missions being launch like the Perseverance rover which is on its way to Mars -- the agency needs a more powerful communications network to keep in touch with them all.

Read more
Voyager probes spot dramatic electron burst deep in interstellar space
The Voyager spacecraft continue to make discoveries even as they travel through interstellar space. In a new study, University of Iowa physicists report on the Voyagers' detection of cosmic ray electrons associated with eruptions from the sun--more than 14 billion miles away.

The Voyager spacecraft continue to make discoveries even as they travel through interstellar space. In a new study, University of Iowa physicists report on the Voyagers' detection of cosmic ray electrons associated with eruptions from the sun--more than 14 billion miles away. NASA/JPL

The two Voyager probes were launched in the 1970s and have now sped out of our solar system and into interstellar space -- but even after more than 40 years of operation, they are still making new discoveries. Their latest finding is the discovery of a new type of electron burst, powered by the sun's cosmic rays.

Read more
Asteroid sample returned to Earth from Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft
spacecraft about to drop off special delivery for scientists hayabusa2 artist impression

A capsule containing a sample from a distant asteroid has been successfully returned to Earth and will soon be available for study, thanks to a Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) mission called Hayabusa2.

The Hayabusa2 spacecraft visited asteroid Ryugu and collected a sample before bringing it back to Earth as part of a mission that has lasted six years so far. The sample was placed in a capsule and sent down to Earth, and the spacecraft will now carry on its mission by visiting another asteroid.

Read more