航海者一号重新上线！ NASA 航天器返回所有 4 台仪器的数据

航海者一号重新上线！ NASA 航天器返回所有 4 台仪器的数据
Voyager 1 is back online! NASA spacecraft returns data from all 4 instruments

原始链接: https://www.space.com/voyager-1-fully-operational

NASA 的航行者 1 号航天器于 1977 年发射，自 2023 年底以来遇到问题后已恢复全部功能。这艘老化的航天器位于距离地球超过 150 亿英里的未知领域，由于其飞行数据子系统 (FDS) 内的故障，面临着通讯不清晰的问题。 Engineers traced the problem down to a specific chip。 By relocating the codes to a new position, Voyger 1 returned valuable data using two of its four science instruments in mid-2024。 Recently, the remaining instruments were brought back online, ensuring continuous transmission of essential information。 Despite any potential setbacks, Voyager 1's groundbreaking achievements include studying Jupiter and Saturn before moving into interstellar space in 2012, revealing critical insights about this enigmatic region。 Team efforts remain focused on maintaining and enhancing the spacecraft's capabilities for ongoing exploration。

有趣的是，以相对论速率向遥远的恒星行进会引发有趣的困境。这种现象被称为时间膨胀，意味着目标位置可能已经过去了很长一段时间，而航行航天器的持续时间相对较短。使用现有技术，理论上它可以在一个生命周期内到达广阔宇宙的目的地，尽管在这些地点需要相当长的时间。然而，这个想法带来了特殊的后果，包括时间悖论。时间膨胀是由于光速有限而产生的，当物体接近高速时，会导致空间和时间的收缩。从本质上讲，与静止的观察者相比，运动中的物体的时间似乎流动得更慢，从而导致称为长度收缩和时间膨胀的差异。想象一下，前往附近的星系，如大犬座星系，距离我们大约 25,000 光年。如果使用理论上的 1G 加速航天器，您可能会在不到 20 年的时间内穿越这个距离 - 然而，在此期间已经过去了近 25,000 年。因此，返回地球将涉及处理复杂的悖论和挑战。先进的技术带来了与时间膨胀相关的一些影响，最明显的是在粒子加速器中，时间膨胀显着影响不稳定的新兴粒子，使它们的持续时间明显长于其原始寿命的预测。然而，在宇宙中任意远行仍然是一个悬而未决的问题，有许多因素阻碍了这一目标的实现。其中包括暗能量所设定的限制、时空本身结构的性质以及当前未知的物理定律所施加的基本限制。为了应对这些挑战，科学家们不断探索突破从量子力学到宇宙学等各个领域界限的途径，寻找有关现实终极本质问题的答案。尽管考虑前往数十亿光年之外的恒星旅行可能还为时过早，但正在进行的研究致力于解开宇宙的秘密并扩大我们的集体理解。

All right, everyone — we can all breathe a sigh of relief. NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is fully operational once more, with all four science instruments returning usable data to Earth.

The problems began in November 2023, when Voyager 1 lost its ability to "speak" with us. More specifically, it started sending to Earth unintelligible data instead of its normal 0s and 1s of binary code. Of course, Voyager 1 is 46 years old — ancient for a spacecraft — so it wasn't entirely a surprise that its health might be waning. And that's not to mention that it's in entirely uncharted interstellar territory, some 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth.

Voyager 1's dogged team was determined to not only figure out what went wrong, but also to fix the problem. And they've succeeded! Controllers identified where the issue was located: the flight data subsystem (FDS), used to "package" data to be sent to Earth. Further sleuthing revealed the exact chip causing the problem, which allowed them to find a workaround. After the team relocated the code to a new location in the FDS, Voyager 1 finally sent back intelligible data on April 20, 2024 — but only from two of its four science instruments. Now, just two months later, Voyager 1's remaining two science instruments are back up and running, communicating effectively with mission control on Earth.

Even if Voyager 1 had gone dark for good, however, the mission would still have been a wild success. After it launched in 1977, its primary mission was to study Jupiter and Saturn — that was accomplished by 1980. (Its twin spacecraft, Voyager 2, went on to study Uranus and Neptune.) But Voyager 1 is on an unstoppable path. Continuing its journey away from Earth, the spacecraft entered interstellar space in 2012, returning crucial data about this mysterious realm.

Now that Voyager 1 is back online, the team will continue to "touch up" the spacecraft to get it back in top form, including resynchronizing its timekeeping software to execute commands at the right time, as well as performing maintenance on the digital tape recorder that measures plasma waves. And hopefully, Voyager 1 will have a long, happy life ahead.

航海者一号重新上线！ NASA 航天器返回所有 4 台仪器的数据 Voyager 1 is back online! NASA spacecraft returns data from all 4 instruments

航海者一号重新上线！ NASA 航天器返回所有 4 台仪器的数据
Voyager 1 is back online! NASA spacecraft returns data from all 4 instruments