NASA Restores Voyager 1 Communications After Power Struggle in Deep Space

The 46-year-old spacecraft, over 15 billion miles from Earth, resumes normal operations following a month-long blackout caused by dwindling power.

Voyager 1, launched in 1977, experienced a communications blackout in October after its power system triggered a switch to a weaker S-band transmitter.
NASA engineers successfully restored the spacecraft's primary X-band transmitter in November, resuming data collection from interstellar space.
The blackout highlighted challenges in managing the spacecraft's aging systems and dwindling power supply, which decreases by about 4 watts annually.
Both Voyager probes, now beyond the heliosphere, are the only spacecraft studying the interstellar medium, providing critical data on plasma, magnetic fields, and cosmic rays.
Experts predict the probes may lose contact within five years, but their legacy includes groundbreaking discoveries and their role as humanity's ambassadors to the stars.