The Voyager 1 spacecraft, which was launched by NASA 45 years ago, began to transmit strange data. NASA experts are trying to understand what this is connected with, Space reports.. com.

Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 and entered what scientists call interstellar space in 2012.. But his journey did not end there, being at a distance of 23.3 billion kilometers from Earth, he still continues to transmit data..

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Despite the fact that the instruments of the apparatus are working correctly, scientists have found that Voyager 1 became confused in its position in space, without switching to safe mode and without transmitting other signals of problems..

" The device is almost 45 years old, which is much more than what the creators expected. It is also in interstellar space, a high-radiation environment that no spacecraft has ever been to,"

The failure is related to the operation of the Voyager Articulation and Attitude Control System, or AACS, which keeps the device and its antenna in the correct orientation.. According to the scientists, the AACS itself works properly because the device receives commands, executes them, and sends scientific data back with the same signal strength as usual.. But the system sends unnecessary telemetry data to Earth.

NASA did not specify when the problem arose and how long it lasted.. The mission team will continue to investigate the failure to fix it or adapt the system to new conditions.. This is a very long process, since the signal to Voyager 1 takes 20 hours 33 minutes and the same time back.

The spacecraft's twin, Voyager 2, also launched in 1977, is operating normally.. At the same time, the amount of energy that it can produce is constantly decreasing..

Mission specialists have included several additional tools that are believed to help the device work until at least 2025..

Voyager 2 is the first and only spacecraft to reach Uranus (in January 1986) and Neptune (in August 1989). In total, 625 gigabytes of data were transmitted from both spacecraft to Earth.. According to scientists, fuel reserves will allow the Voyager series devices to remain operational for another ten years.. Then communication with the Earth will be lost..