How does Voyager 2 communicate with Earth? Voyager 1 status, distance from Earth, and more explained 

Voyager 2, a NASA space probe launched in 1977, had lost contact with NASA, scientists claimed on Friday, July 28, 2023. However, NASA has now claimed that the space probe seems alive and well after they spotted a signal from the explorer of our solar system.

Suzanne Dodd, Voyager’s project manager at NASA, reported about the found “heartbeat” and said:

“We enlisted the help of the Deep Space Network and Radio Science groups to help to see if we could hear a signal from Voyager 2. This was successful in that we see the ‘heartbeat’ signal from the spacecraft. So, we know the spacecraft is alive and operating. This buoyed our spirits.”

The spacecraft, which has been operating for 46 years, lost contact after a few scientists sent the wrong command, which caused the spacecraft’s antenna to point 2 degrees away from the Earth, resulting in a situation where the NASA scientists could not establish a connection with the lost spacecraft.

Scientists are now working hard to reset its antenna and settings so that it can be redirected toward Earth. The project manager also reported that another attempt is set for October 15, 2023, which could be the day NASA re-establishes contact with the spacecraft.

Furthermore, until now, the spacecraft was communicating with Earth and the scientists at NASA through large antennas. As per How Stuff Works, the spacecraft is transmitting in the 8 GHz range.

“The antenna on Earth can use an extremely sensitive amplifier and still make sense of the faint signals it receives. Then when the earth antenna transmits back to the spacecraft, it uses extremely high power (tens of thousands of watts) to make sure the spacecraft gets the message,” the website claimed.

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Voyager 2 is more than 12.3 billion miles away from the Earth

Voyager 2, which is in interstellar space, is roughly 12.3 billion miles away from the Earth. NASA also stated that since the spacecraft is extremely far away from the space station, it will take more than 18 hours to reach the signal from it.

While the scientists have not been able to establish contact with the space probe, they claim that it is “in good health.”

Furthermore, Voyager 2’s space twin, Voyager 1, also entered interstellar space in August 2012 and is now nearly 15 billion miles away from the Earth. Both spacecraft were designed to complete a "grand tour" of the solar system. During their journey, they visited planets, including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

After exploring these planets, both spacecraft have left the solar system and are now making rounds in interstellar space.

At the same time, NASA scientists claim that such accidents as those that occurred with the space probe are not common, but they are hopeful that they will once again establish contact with the space probe.