Currently flying through space 12.3 billion miles away, the Voyager 2 has lost its communication with Earth. The space probe is no longer receiving commands via NASA’s Deep Space Network or sending data back home. According to NASA, “a series of planned commands sent to NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft July 21 inadvertently caused the antenna to point 2 degrees away from Earth.” Hopefully, we’ll reconnect in October. From NASA:
Voyager 2 is programmed to reset its orientation multiple times each year to keep its antenna pointing at Earth; the next reset will occur on Oct. 15, which should enable communication to resume. The mission team expects Voyager 2 to remain on its planned trajectory during the quiet period.
NASA launched the twin Voyager 1and 2 spacecraft in 1977 on a grand tour of the solar system and into the mysteries of interstellar space. Attached to each of these spacecraft is a golden phonograph record containing a message for any extraterrestrial intelligence that might encounter it, perhaps billions of years from now. This enchanting artifact—the Voyager Golden Record—may be the last vestige of our civilization after we are gone forever.