Voyager 2 was glitched out, but it's alive and recording data again

In January, NASA's Voyager 2 experienced a glitch that triggered the craft into initializing its pre-programmed fault-protection mode.

In this mode, Voyager 2 disabled all of its five measuring instruments that it would normally be using to gather data with. Since then, NASA's engineers have been working around the clock to get the ancient craft back up and running as per normal. The biggest problem that the engineers faced was the sheer distance Voyager 2 is away from Earth. Engineers were required to troubleshoot the problem, but every command they sent to the craft it took 17 hours to reach the probe and for data to be received back here on Earth.

The engineers found that the glitch occurred when Voyager 2 missed a spin maneuver that was meant to calibrate its magnetic-field instrument. This glitch resulted in two power-hungry systems being left on simultaneously, which then triggered the probes preprogrammed fault-protection mode. Luckily, engineers were able to resolve the issue, and now Voyager 2 is back to working as per normal. NASA announced the news via a statement on its website, check that out here for more information.

Here's what NASA said in a statement, "Voyager 2 has returned to normal operations following the anomaly on Jan. 25, 2020. The five operating science instruments, which were turned off by the spacecraft's fault protection routine, are back on and returning normal science data."