After days of silence, NASA heard Voyager 2 in interstellar space billions of miles away.
Flight controllers accidentally sent an incorrect command nearly two weeks ago that tilted the spacecraft's antenna away from Earth and cut off contact.
NASA's Deep Space Network, which has giant antennas around the world, received a “signal heartbeat" (heartbeat signal), meaning the 46-year-old vessel is "alive" and operational, project manager Suzanne Dodd said in a Email on Tuesday.
The news "raised our spirits," Dodd said. Flight controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will now try to turn Voyager 2's antenna back toward Earth.
If the mandate doesn't work — and auditors doubt it will — they'll have to wait until October for one automatic returning the spacecraft.
"It's a long time to wait, so we'll try to send the orders several times" before that, Dodd said.
Voyager 2 was launched into space in 1977, along with its identical twin Voyager 1, in an attempt to explore exoplanets.
Continuing to communicate and function well, Voyager 1 is currently 24 billion kilometers from Earth, making it the most distant spacecraft.
Voyager 2 follows its twin through interstellar space more than 19 billion miles from Earth. At this distance, it takes more than 18 hours for a signal to travel one way.
