The Voyager 2 space probe has lost contact with NASA since July 21. This was announced by NASA itself last weekend. On July 21 instructions were given to Voyager 2 that caused the antennas that receive and transmit data to no longer point to Earth. Because of this it is now disconnected from NASA's control center.
NASA did not panic because Voyager 2 was programmed to perform an orientation of the antenna towards the earth several times a year. The next orientation is scheduled to take place on October 15. If contact is still lost, Voyager 2, which is now 19.9 billion km from Earth, will be lost forever.
Voyager 2 was launched in 1977 and has now passed through interstellar space. Its original mission was to travel only to Jupiter and Saturn in a mission that took four years. But after 45 years it is still operating with NASA reducing power to some of the science instruments it carries to allow it to operate until 2026.
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