ScientistPankaj: We finally know why NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft stopped communicating

Thursday, April 11, 2024

We finally know why NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft stopped communicating — scientists are working on a fix

JAXA astronauts will join moon landings in return for rover | We know why NASA's Voyager 1 stopped communicating | Total solar eclipses to look out for over the next decade

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April 11, 2024

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The Launchpad

JAXA astronauts will join moon landings in return for rover

(NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The first non-American to walk on the moon will be a Japanese astronaut, based on a new agreement between the United States and Japan. U.S. President Joe Biden announced the goal during a state visit by Japan's prime minister, Kishida Fumio, on Wednesday.

Full Story: Space (4/11)

We know why NASA's Voyager 1 stopped communicating

(Caltech/NASA-JPL)

NASA engineers have discovered the cause of a communications breakdown between Earth and the interstellar explorer Voyager 1. It would appear that a small portion of corrupted memory exists in one of the spacecraft's computers. The source of the issue began to reveal itself when Voyager 1 operators sent the spacecraft a "poke" on March 3, 2024. This was intended to prompt FDS to send a full memory readout back to Earth.

Full Story: Space (4/10)

Total Solar Eclipse 2024

Total solar eclipses to look out for over the next decade

(Michael Zeiler/GreatAmericanEclipse.com)

With the April 8 total solar eclipse over, North America has exactly eight years, 11 months and 22 days to wait until its next one. Although total solar eclipses occur in the same location only every 375 years or so, they are not rare. In fact, they happen on our planet about once every 18 months, on average.

Full Story: Space (4/11)

What it was like to chase totality in South Texas

(Gill Carter)

Parts of Texas were the runaway favorite locations for a clear view of this year's total solar eclipse. It was ultimately, a last-gasp victory for some regions of the aptly-named Lonestar State - but only a few were lucky, as weather forecasts proved typically unreliable.

Full Story: Space (4/10)

Spaceflight

Expandable habitats could help humanity settle the moon

(Max Space)

Max Space wants to help humanity expand into the final frontier. The startup is developing a range of inflatable space habitats, the largest of which could provide as much internal volume as a sports stadium. These plans, which Max Space unveiled on Tuesday (April 9) here at the 39th Space Symposium, are designed to help our species make the difficult leap off its home planet.

Full Story: Space (4/10)

Science & Astronomy

Why Peter Higgs leaves a massive legacy in physics

(Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

On April 8, 2024, British theoretical physicist Peter Ware Higgs passed away at the age of 94. It was almost 12 years ago, on July 4, 2012, in a fairly inauspicious lecture hall located in Geneva, Switzerland, when Higgs became an iconic figure in modern science.

Full Story: Space (4/10)

SpaceX

SpaceX launches advanced Space Force weather satellite

(SpaceX)

SpaceX launched its second national security mission of the year Thursday (April 11). A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base at 10:25 a.m. EDT (7:25 a.m. local California time; 1425 GMT), on a mission for the U.S. Space Force called USSF-62.

Full Story: Space (4/11)

Technology

US needs new space tech or it 'will lose'

(Brett Tingley)

The United States must harness emerging technological capabilities if it wants to avoid losing a future conflict against its adversaries, the head of U.S. Space Force warned.

Full Story: Space (4/10)