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☆ Voyager 1 regains communications with NASA after inventive fix
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Voyager 1’s flight data system collects information from the spacecraft’s science instruments and bundles it with engineering data that reflects its current health status. But since November, Voyager 1’s flight data system had been stuck in a loop. By investigating the readout, the team determined the cause of the issue: 3% of the flight data system’s memory is corrupted. Members of the Voyager flight team celebrate after receiving the first coherent data from Voyager 1 in five months at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 20. And younger engineers are coming onto the Voyager team and contributing their knowledge to keep the mission going.”

Persons: they’ve, ”, Linda Spilker, “, Suzanne Dodd, “ We’ve, we’ve Organizations: CNN, NASA, Voyager, JPL, Network, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech

☆ NASA used an interstellar 'shout' to reconnect with Voyager 2 probe after losing it in a technical screw-up
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory reconnected with the Voyager 2 space probe after losing it. The agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory sent an interstellar "shout" more than 12.3 billion miles which got the probe's attention after an error by NASA officials rendered the probe temporarily unreachable. According to the agency, it took the signal 18.5 hours for commands to reach Voyager 2 through the vastness of space. The operation only had a small chance of success, a spokeswoman for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory told The Times. "After two weeks of not hearing anything, we're back to getting unique data from the interstellar medium," said Linda Spilker, a planetary scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the lead mission scientist for Voyager 2.

Persons: Suzanne Dodd, Linda Spilker, Dodd Organizations: Jet Propulsion, Service, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space, New York Times, Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, Canberra, Australia, NASA's

☆ NASA Reaches Voyager 2 With a Last-Ditch ‘Shout’ Across the Void
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Katrina Miller | More About Katrina Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It took an interstellar “shout” across the solar system. But NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Friday that it re-established full communications with Voyager 2, an aging probe exploring the outer edges of the solar system. “After two weeks of not hearing anything, we’re back to getting unique data from the interstellar medium,” said Linda Spilker, a planetary scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the lead mission scientist for Voyager 2. On Tuesday morning, officials from the Deep Space Network, a worldwide system of radio dishes NASA uses to communicate with various space probes, detected a carrier signal known as a heartbeat from Voyager 2. Nonetheless, being able to pick up only the heartbeat “was upsetting and worrisome,” said Suzanne Dodd, the project manager for Voyager 2.

Persons: ”, Linda Spilker, Suzanne Dodd Organizations: Propulsion Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space, NASA

☆ NASA accidentally lost contact with its Voyager 2 probe after sending a wrong command. It could mean the end of its 46-year-old mission.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NASA "inadvertently" cut contact with its Voyager 2 probe after sending a wrong command. The 46-year-old probe is hurtling away from Earth at around 35,000 miles per hour. The agency said Friday it hasn't been in contact with the probe since July 21 after "inadvertently" pointing its antenna away from Earth. In the meantime, the probe is traveling 35,000 miles per hour through space and is 12 billion miles away from Earth. An artist's impression (circa 1977) of the trajectory to be taken by NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes on their missions to study Jupiter and Saturn.

Persons: hasn't, Glen Nagle, Linda Spilker Organizations: NASA, Service, ABC News, ABC, NASA's, Space Frontiers, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Locations: Wall, Silicon, Canberra, NASA's, Southern California

☆ Key building block of life found on ocean world orbiting Saturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A key chemical building block of life has been found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. An ocean exists beneath the thick, icy surface of Enceladus, and plumes of material regularly release from geysers at the moon’s south pole. “Previous geochemical models were divided on the question of whether Enceladus’ ocean contains significant quantities of phosphates at all,” Postberg said. “This key ingredient could be abundant enough to potentially support life in Enceladus’ ocean; this is a stunning discovery for astrobiology.”Some of the additional ocean world moons around Jupiter and Saturn include Europa, Titan and Ganymede. Although the building blocks of life and conditions for habitability exist on Enceladus, no actual life has been detected yet.

Persons: ”, Frank Postberg, ” Postberg, Fabian Klenner, “, Postberg, Christopher Glein, Cassini, Linda Spilker, Spilker, ” Spilker, ” Glein, ” “, Nozair Khawaja, Mikhail Zolotov, Zolotov Organizations: CNN, Cassini, NASA, JPL, Space Science, Freie Universität, ATP, University of Washington, Southwest Research Institute, Clipper, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin, Arizona State University Locations: Freie Universität Berlin, San Antonio , Texas, Europa, Pasadena , California

☆ Meet the mystery species that buried their dead long before humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And Homo naledi was added to the family tree in 2013 after cave explorers tipped off researchers that there might be something promising within the dangerous depths of the Rising Star cave system. Mark Thiessen/National GeographicA team of explorers has uncovered evidence that Homo naledi buried their dead and carved symbols on cave walls at least 100,000 years before modern humans. Across the universeAstronomers using the Webb telescope discovered complex organic molecules in a galaxy located over 12 billion light-years away. Doyle/NASA/ESA/CSAThe James Webb Space Telescope peered into a galaxy located more than 12 billion light-years away and spied the most distant organic molecules ever detected. — A bright new supernova appeared in the Pinwheel Galaxy, and a telescope in Hawaii captured a dazzling image of the stellar explosion.

Persons: Matthew Berger, —, Homo, paleoartist John Gurche, Mark Thiessen, naledi, Webb, Doyle, James Webb, Einstein, Dino, dino, Iani smithi, Janus, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, Geographic, Cincinnati Zoo, Botanical, NASA, ESA, Parker, Probe, Drassm, Tunisia’s Skerki Bank, Sonar, CNN Space, Science Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Spain, Utah, North America, Tunisia, Italy’s, Tunisia’s, Costa Rican, Great Britain, Hawaii

☆ Webb telescope detects organic molecules in distant galaxy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Astronomers have detected the most distant known organic molecules in the universe using the James Webb Space Telescope. It’s the first time Webb has detected complex molecules in the distant universe. The complex molecules were found in a galaxy known as SPT0418-47, located more than 12 billion light-years away. The galaxy observed by the Webb telescope shows an Einstein ring caused by a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, which occurs when two galaxies are almost perfectly aligned from our perspective on Earth. Investigating the early universeAstronomers spotted the signature of the organic molecules during a careful analysis of Webb’s data.

Persons: James Webb, Webb, it’s, Doyle, J, Einstein, ”, Joaquin Vieira, Albert Einstein’s, Justin Spilker, Spilker, George P, Cynthia Woods Mitchell, ” Spilker, Kedar Phadke, we’ve Organizations: CNN —, James Webb Space Telescope, National Science, Hubble, University of Illinois, M University, Texas, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics Locations: Chile, University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign, Texas

☆ How the Voyager probes keep going decades after launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Voyager 2’s priceless data is captured and returned to Earth through its five science instruments, while Voyager 1 still has four operational instruments after one failed earlier in the mission. Both Voyager probes rely on radioisotope thermoelectric generators. Over time, the Voyager team has commanded the probes to turn off instrument heaters and other nonessential systems. The Voyager proof test model, seen here in 1976, has a platform showcasing several of the science instruments. “Picture it as an ocean of space with waves and turbulence and activity going on, and the Voyager instruments can measure what’s happening,” Spilker said.

☆ Voyager 2 has been in space for 45 years. NASA just found a way to keep it alive for another 3, despite it being 12 billion miles from Earth.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NASA has hacked a backup source of power to keep Voyager 2 working. Today, the probes are traveling in interstellar space, 12 and 14 billion miles away from Earth. NASA/JPL-CaltechNASA hacked the ancient probe's power systemA space simulator replica of the Voyager probes is shown here pictured in 1976 NASA/JPL-CalTechThe probes are powered by generators that convert heat from decaying plutonium into electricity. One of Voyager 1's instruments previously malfunctioned, which means the probe has not been using up as much power as Voyager 2. The decision to switch off instruments for Voyager 1 will be made next year, according to the space agency.

☆ States and healthcare organizations join forces to help people prepare for Medicaid redeterminations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Unitedhealthcare | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As many as 18 million Americans may lose Medicaid coverage this year. Over the past three years, Medicaid recipients remained eligible thanks to a Congressional bill that provided funds to maintain continuous Medicaid coverage. But this April marks the end of this pandemic-era policy that helped people maintain their Medicaid coverage. That means the continuous enrollment provision will expire and states will return to their pre-pandemic policies of requiring people to renew their Medicaid coverage annually. Any individuals or families who lose Medicaid coverage through this redetermination process will need assistance securing replacement health insurance coverage.

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