Thursday Thoughput: Fixing Spacecraft Edition

[ThTh1] I have written several times about the Voyager spacecraft and the remarkable success they have had since their grand tour of the Solar System. They continue to function and send data back to Earth and continue to be used for science, exploring the outer edges of our Solar System and taking the first tiptoes into interstellar space.

A few months ago, we stopped being able to get useful data from the Voyager 1 spacecraft. It turns out that, after 46 years in space, part of the telemetry stopped working. We knew the spacecraft was receiving commands but could not get any health and safety data down, needless to say any scientific data. For a while, it looked like this might be the end of he road.

Well, JPL was finally able to restore communications, deploying a workaround that leverages other parts of the onboard hardware. This is astonishing work: debugging a fifty year old computer at a distance of 15 billion miles.

In related news, my own mission — Swift — went on the blink in March due to a failing gyroscope. A couple of weeks ago, we returned to operations in a two-gyroscope mode. I got to see this one up close and personal, being a member of the Science Operations team and an instrument lead. And it was … impressive. I can’t go into the details (partially because I don’t understand all of them) but the knowledge about a 20-year old spacecraft and the care taken with implementing changes was amazing to be a part of.

This is what NASA does. They solve problems. They figure out complex issues. They make the impossible possible. And we’ve gotten two important vehicles back online thanks to hard work and deep knowledge.

Between that, the eclipse and LIGO firing back up, it’s a good month to be an astronomer.

[ThTh2] One of the things we learned from exoplanets was that the gas giants in our Solar System were once much closer to the Sun and then migrated to their current orbits. We now have tighter constraints on when this happened. And also a better timing o when Theia smacked into the Earth, creating the Moon.

[ThTh3] A new monster black hole has been found right next door. Well, 2000 light years away.

[ThTh4] An update on the vaccine that could dramatically cut the risk of UTIs. Knowing a few women who suffer from chronic recurring UTIs, this could be a huge deal.

[ThTh5] Most accurate science fair project ever.

My friend just posted her daughter’s science fair project that got her kicked out of the science fair and I’m ☠️☠️☠️ pic.twitter.com/1sobECtA9s

— just a nurse (@hib343434) March 29, 2024

[ThTh6] I kind of have to agree with Reason that the new studies showing the prevalence of nanoplastics. We have no idea if these things are dangerous

[ThTh7] I am told by chemists that this is accurate:

The periodic table of elemental lickability: pic.twitter.com/raP6dI53eW

— Maggie McNeill (@Maggie_McNeill) April 23, 2024

[ThTh8]Two new drugs could spare kids chemotherapy for brain tumors.