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  • 4 weeks later...
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This could be groundbreaking. 

 

NASA Engineers Poke Voyager 1 And Receive Memory Dump

https://hackaday.com/2024/03/16/nasa-engineers-poke-voyager-1-and-receive-memory-dump/

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For months, there has been a rising fear that we may have to say farewell to the Voyager 1 spacecraft after it began to send back garbled data. Now, in a sudden twist, Voyager 1 sent back a read-out of the Flight Data Subsystem (FDS) memory after a "poke” command, which both gives some hope that the spacecraft is in a better condition than feared while also allows engineers to dig through the returned memory read-out for clues. Although this data was not sent in the format that the FDS is supposed to use when it’s working correctly, it’s nevertheless readable.

It was previously suspected that the issue lay with the telemetry modulation unit (TMU), but has since been nailed down to the FDS itself.  This comes after NASA engineers have been updating the firmware on both spacecraft to extend their lifespan, but it’s too early to consider this as a possible reason. Now, as a result of the "poke” instruction – which commands the computer to try different sequences in its firmware in case part of it has been corrupted – engineers can compare it to previous downloads to hopefully figure out the cause behind the FDS problems and a possible solution.

Inspired by this news of the decoded memory download, Nadia Drake – daughter of Frank Drake – wrote about how it affects not only the engineers who have worked on the Voyager mission for the past decades but also her own thoughts about the two Voyager spacecraft. Not only do they form a lasting reminder of her father and so many of his colleagues, but the silence that would follow if we can no longer communicate with these spacecraft would be profound. Still, this new hope is better than the earlier news about this plucky little spaceship.

The original mission ended in 1980. The fact that it is still operating is a miracle of genius.

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Feels like a space race 2.0 coming

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday directed NASA to establish a unified standard of time for the moon and other celestial bodies, as the United States aims to set international norms in space amid a growing lunar race among nations and private companies.

The head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), according to a memo seen by Reuters, instructed the space agency to work with other parts of the U.S. government to devise a plan by the end of 2026 for setting what it called a Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) .

 

https://www.reuters.com/science/white-house-directs-nasa-create-time-standard-moon-2024-04-02/?utm_source=reddit.com

 

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On top of the eclipse, we have a nice planetary alignment going on today.

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everybody still here?

just checking.

 

 

 

what about now?

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1 hour ago, Arthur Jackson said:

everybody still here?

just checking.

 

 

 

what about now?

We were watching the eclipse on the back deck and my daughters just disappeared! What is happening????!!!!???

Never mind. I just took off the eclipse glasses and they were still here.

"ok dad."

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Now that I'm finished watching the eclipse, I feel an intense need to repent for something- I'm not sure what, but something...

Couldn't see anything at first outside, then popped in our sun room and looked up at the skylight and realized I was looking right up at the eclipse. 

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