NASA hears Voyager 2 'heartbeat' after losing touch with interstellar probe

[Judi Lynn]

By Elizabeth Howell published 21 minutes ago

The spacecraft is still healthy, but not yet talking with Earth.



An artist's depiction of a Voyager probe entering interstellar space. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Voyager 2 is still broadcasting a "heartbeat" from deep space after a communications breakdown.

NASA's long-running Voyager 2 mission, which launched from Earth in 1977, automatically sent a "carrier signal" picked up by the agency's Deep Space Network, agency officials stated Monday (Aug. 1).

"A bit like hearing the spacecraft's 'heartbeat,' it confirms the spacecraft is still broadcasting, which engineers expected," officials with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) stated on Twitter. Canberra, Australia's DSN Twitter account confirmed the news as well.

JPL will next send a command to Voyager 2 asking the spacecraft to point itself to Earth. "If that does not work, we'll have to wait until October, when the spacecraft's onboard software automatically tells it to reset its direction," the statement added.

More:
https://www.space.com/voyager-2-heartbeat-earth-deep-space-signal