Nasa's Voyager 2 probe 'leaves the Solar System' - Update: Nasa fully back in contact with probe

IF there IS an edge and therefore the end of space, what is beyond that end?
Us humans can only deal with the finite, so to contemplate something without an end would have to have been akin to my late mother-in-laws tongue :tongue: :wink::point_right::grin:

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Fascinating what theories scientist come up with.

It’s more fascinating they make a good living at it! :grin:

Thanks to an “interstellar shout” - a powerful instruction - its antenna is now back facing Earth. It took 37 hours for mission controllers to figure out if the interstellar command had worked as Voyager 2 is billions of miles away from Earth.

Staff used the “highest-power transmitter” to send a message to the spacecraft and timed it to be sent during “the best conditions” so the antenna lined up with the command, Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd told AFP.

Nasa confirmed on 4 August that data had been received from the spacecraft and it was operating normally.

The spacecraft laden with science instruments will remain on its planned trajectory through the universe.

Excellent news … :grinning:

Well done NASA … :clap:

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fantastic - pity it can’t send pic shots back!! - but I am sure someone will tell us why not!

Voyagers cameras have been intentionally turned off to preserve power and they are not useful being so far from any sunlight or photographical objects. But some of the instruments are still functioning which measure cosmic rays, magnetic fields and other charged particles that fill interstellar space.

Due to it’s diminishing power, NASA intends to shut down Voyager 2 in 2026.

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Thank you Australia and the Tidbinbilla Deep Space Centre

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Yes, thanks Bruce…Did you attend in person?
:sunglasses:

I just pointed in the right direction, they did the rest (using the dish in my earlier post)

BTW the Dish used during the Apollo 11 mission at Honeysuckle Creek in the ACT was moved to Tidbinbilla Deep Space Centre when HoneySuckle Creek was abandoned and redesignated as Deep Space Station (DSS46). I don’t think it is used any more but is kept for its historic value. It is the dish immediately to your left as you drive in to the Visitor’s Centre (well worth a visit)

It is the dish that bought you the pictures of the Moon Landing and Neil Armstrong stepping on the Moon.

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Thanks for that Bruce…
:+1:

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:open_mouth: So a global effort and probably helped in the Apollo13 mission to get the crew back.

Actually I had a role in the Apollo 13 mission. At the time was working at the PO Tower in London and turned off a couple of our transmitters which were on the same frequency as the Lunar Module. Apparently they might have interfered with communications when the module was near the horizon.

Not a starring role :wink: but it was an indication of how serious the situation was at the time.

This just popped up in my Youtube feed - it is quite interesting

wow wow wow - that was mind boggling and fantastic - you could almost feel you were out there doing some travelling - thanks Bruce well spotted and I know you’ll share more heh??

That’s a “Dishy” looking space probe!!!

It’s very dramatic…Perhaps NASA should consider going into the film business…Wait a minute?
The end bit sounded like an obituary to the human race. Even if somebody or something replied from the place Voyager is now, it would take 46 years to go and introduce ourselves. So everyone on the forum can forget about that…I reckon both voyagers will get taken out by a meteorite shower, just look what they’ve done to the moon and our dinosaurs. I’m surprised the voyagers haven’t been hit already.
It all sounds a bit desperate to me…
:flushed:

Foxy, stop doing numbers, this is scary stuff!

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Just think Spitty…If you had a seat on the voyager…Your life would be all about the destination that you never arrive at…Life is full of…‘What If’s’…
:yawning_face: