This article clarifies common misconceptions regarding how NASA manages the software for the aging Voyager spacecraft. While popular narratives suggest the probes run on obsolete Fortran code maintained by a disappearing generation of octogenarians, the reality involves low-level assembly language written for specialized 1970s hardware and complex challenges involving fragmented documentation and institutional memory.
Key points:
Distinction between onboard assembly language and ground-side Fortran tools.
The impact of lost or paper-based mission documentation on modern maintenance.
Current engineering realities at JPL regarding technical fluency in custom hardware.
Hardware degradation due to declining power from radioisotope thermoelectric generators.
Key points:
Distinction between onboard assembly language and ground-side Fortran tools.
The impact of lost or paper-based mission documentation on modern maintenance.
Current engineering realities at JPL regarding technical fluency in custom hardware.
Hardware degradation due to declining power from radioisotope thermoelectric generators.
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft obtained a close look at asteroid Donaldjohanson, a uniquely shaped fragment formed about 150 million years ago, during a flyby on April 20, 2025. The asteroid appears to be an elongated contact binary with an odd shape and is approximately 5 miles long and 2 miles wide.
"...an onboard control unit failed to turn the engines off because it wasn't receiving the necessary data from one of Luna-25's accelerometers, devices used to detect and measure motion. The accelerometer unit was not turned on, "due to the possible entry into one data array of commands with different priorities for their execution by the device,"
