NASA loses contact with Voyager 2 spacecraft

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has “accidentally” lost contact with its ground-breaking spacecraft, Voyager 2.

According to local media outlet, The Guardian, on Tuesday, the space agency reported that it had scheduled commands to be transmitted to the probe on July 21, but, Voyager 2 lost contact with its engineers after the planned commands accidentally caused the craft’s antenna to point 2 degrees away from Earth.

NASA reports that it has been unable to receive commands and give back data to the spacecraft, located nearly 12.4 billion miles from Earth.

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NASA is still hoping to get in touch with the probe again. It is set up to automatically push its antenna back to Earth several times a year in order to readjust its alignment.

According to NASA, the next reset is scheduled for October 15th. Until then, according to the space agency, the probe would “remain on its planned trajectory during the quiet period.”

Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun’s heliosphere.