15 years in space. NASA lost contact with device at the edge of the solar system: what’s known

Space writes that the NASA instrument, which has been in space for 15 years and studying the boundaries of the heliosphere, has not responded to commands from Earth for more than a week, and scientists do not yet know what happened to it.

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The IBEX spacecraft went into space in 2008 to provide scientists with information about what’s happening at the edge of the heliosphere, the bubble-shaped crust that surrounds our solar system. This crust is created by solar wind streams, particles ejected from the Sun, and ends where interstellar space begins.

It is believed that the boundary of the heliosphere, called the heliopause, begins at a distance of about 17.5 billion km. For example, Pluto is 2 times closer to the Sun. At this boundary, where only Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 can pass, the solar wind and the interstellar wind meet, so the interstellar medium begins behind it.

For example, thanks to the mountain goat apparatus, scientists have already learned, as I wrote Focusthat the heliopause can change its shape. Also, using the IBEX data, the researchers were able to create a map of heliopause as previously written. Focus. Another major achievement of the research apparatus was that in 2013 scientists were able to detect a dense region of particles called the solar system’s plasma tail. This tail is formed when neutral hydrogen atoms carried by the solar wind interact with our galaxy’s magnetic field.

But as early as February 18, the IBEX device stopped responding to commands from Earth, and scientists have been unable to connect with it since, according to NASA. What exactly happened is still unknown. According to scientists, more than a week ago, the mainframe on the spacecraft was rebooted, after which an emergency arose.

Mission controllers attempted to re-establish communication with the vehicle, but this attempt was unsuccessful. According to a NASA statement, all instruments and mainframe should still be working despite this malfunction.

According to scientists, if they do not fix the problem and do not restore the communication and control of the device, on March 4, the computer will reboot, after which it will completely turn off. This will allow IBEX systems to automatically return to their original settings after powering up. At the very least, the device is programmed to do so in the event of a malfunction. NASA promised to report on the results achieved as part of the restoration of communications with the IBEX apparatus in early March.

One of the main goals of IBEX is to study the global interaction between the solar wind plasma and the interstellar medium in the boundary region of the solar system.