Somewhere out in the vast, cold reaches of interstellar space, NASA’s Voyager 1 is giving the silent treatment. Launched in 1977 when disco was still alive and rotary phones were high-tech, the plucky spacecraft has been traveling further and further away from home for nearly half a century, sending back data not only with the steadiness of a Swiss watch, but also the dedication of a particularly chatty long-distance pen pal. Until now.
This week, NASA confirmed that Voyager 1 is experiencing an issue with its flight data system. Specifically, the system that formats engineering and science data before it gets radioed across the cosmic void to Earth has begun sending what the agency politely describes as “gibberish.” So, either Voyager 1 is developing a quirky sense of humor at 15 billion miles away, or it is suffering from some kind of age-related hiccup.
For those concerned that our robotic star-scout has finally succumbed to the loneliness of deep space, fear not. Mission controllers still have a heartbeat signal from the spacecraft, indicating that it is alive and kicking, though not currently in a mood to tell us anything useful. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are now running diagnostics and sipping copious amounts of coffee while trying to coax Voyager 1 into resuming coherent communication.
This is not the first time Voyager 1 has thrown a data-related tantrum. In 2022, the craft sent corrupted attitude data, prompting similar drama and hand-wringing from Earth-bound engineers before they coaxed it back into a proper state of mind. Some might call it a spacecraft midlife crisis, although at nearly 47 years old, Voyager is more likely celebrating its golden years by forgetting how to talk to the kids back home.
Despite its digital mumbling, Voyager 1 remains the farthest human-made object in space, a title it has held since gliding past the boundary of the solar system back in 2012. It continues to function on a diet of decaying plutonium, which sounds slightly ominous but has so far proven more reliable than most modern appliances.
If JPL cannot restore communication with the data system, Voyager 1 will continue speeding outward in silence, possibly humming 1970s hits to itself and contemplating the futility of interstellar voicemail.
Even after all these years, it turns out the biggest problem with long-distance relationships is still communication.