It has been reported that after almost 43 years travelling through space, the Voyager 1 has stopped responding to communication sent from Earth. Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 was the first human-made object sent out into interstellar space. Its mission was to explore and photograph the outer planets of the Solar System, and once it left the planetary boundaries, its mission was extended to include an investigation of interstellar space.
Unfortunately, despite the spacecraft’s mission control having sent numerous signals to the spacecraft and listening for signals in return, nothing has been heard from Voyager 1 since last March. It is possible that this is due to the increasing distance the spacecraft is situated from Earth, but more likely, it is because of the deterioration of some of the spacecraft’s systems and equipment.
The last signal that Voyager 1 sent back to Earth was a signal that told mission control about the status of the health of its vessels gyroscope which is an instrument used to measure the orientation of the spacecraft in space. After that, all communication went silent.
This isn’t exactly surprising as the spacecraft was only equipped with resources and materials that were expected to last until at least 2020. NASA is now attempting to send backup signals that do not require responses to ensure that the spacecrafts systems do not become confused as they adjust and corrode in interstellar space.
Despite its distance, Voyager 1 is likely to reach many significant astronomical milestones in its journey. It will eventually pass within a few lightyears of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, and likely reach the very edge of our solar system by the 25th century. It will certainly be monitored and studied for many millennia to come, and its myriad data will no doubt be used to further develop our understanding of outer space.
For now, though, mission control is still actively trying to contact the spacecraft, however, unless the spacecraft receives a signal from Earth, we won’t know if it’s received any of the signals that mission control has sent out. Without further contact, we will never truly know what lies beyond the realms of our Solar System.