NASA ’s Voyager-2 has been fly through space for 43 year ( almost two yearsin interstellar quad ) and it has been wholly solo for the last eight calendar month . The only dish in the earth that can send commands to the spacecraft , the Deep Space Station 43 ( DSS43 ) , is undergoing hangout and rise . This means Voyager-2 has not heard from us in a while and vice - versa .
Last calendar week , a few commands were commit to the spacecraft during a exam . After 34 hours and 48 minutes , the squad received a hello from deep space . Voyager-2 is okay and is able to execute commands 18.8 billion kilometre ( 11.7 billion naut mi ) from Earth .
DSS43 is place in Canberra , Australia , and is part of NASA ’s Deep Space internet , the ingathering of wireless antennas used to convey with spacecraft beyond the orbit of the Moon . The two other facilities are in Goldstone , California , and Madrid , Spain . normally , spacecraft can be contact by any of the three stations , but Voyager-2 is the exception . To image Neptune ’s moon Triton , it was placed on an area that is transmit it more and more south with regard to the airplane of the Solar System , meaning it can only be contacted from Australia .
Built in 1972 , the antenna has been kick upstairs over clip , but most of the equipment is the original from almost 50 years ago . The most late farsighted offline period of time was necessary to provide a everlasting refurbishment to DSS43 and instal unexampled hardware . The 70 - meter - wide ( 230 - foot - blanket ) antenna will be fully operational in February .
" What make this task singular is that we ’re doing work at all levels of the antenna , from the pedestal at ground point all the way up to the feedcones at the center of the dish that stretch above the rim , " Brad Arnold , the DSN task managing director at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Lab , said in astatement . " This test communicating with Voyager 2 definitely state us that things are on track with the study we ’re doing . "
The Voyager-2 investigation continues to travel andperform scientific measurements43 years after its launching and 31 class after its master charge end . Its newly refurbished DSS43 will be crucial for current and more close - to - home missions , as well as upcoming missions such asPerseverance on Marsand the Artemis Program to send humans back to the Moon .
" The DSS43 antenna is a highly specialized system ; there are only two other similar transmitting aerial in the world , so induce the aerial down for one year is not an idealistic situation for Voyager or for many other NASA mission , " added Philip Baldwin , operation manager for NASA ’s Space Communications and Navigation ( SCaN ) Program . " The agency made the decision to conduct these upgrades to assure that the antenna can continue to be used for current and future missions . For an feeler that is almost 50 years one-time , it ’s better to be proactive than reactive with critical maintenance . "
