Amateur astronomers to rescue 'zombie' spacecraft: Nasa allows space fans to revive 1970s probe as it nears Earth

This is first time Nasa has given control of one of its craft to the public



Virginia-based amateur group works under banner ISEE-3 Reboot Project

Next month it will try to contact the probe and get its systems working

ISEE-3 was the first satellite to study the constant flow of solar wind



Reviving the mission could help scientists better understand solar winds which can affect satellites and the climate on Earth



A vintage spacecraft will next month close in on Earth after an unexpected long journey around the sun.

As it approaches our planet, scientists will have a brief chance to communicate with the 36-year-old probe in an attempt to bring it back to life.

But with limited resources of its own, Nasa has made the unprecedented move of handing the reins over to amateur scientists in the hope that a group of space fans can revive the mission.

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Nasa has officially endorsed an amateur group, known as the the ISEE-3 Reboot Project, for them to attempt to bring a vintage spacecraft, called ISEE-3, back to life. Pictured is an artist's concept image of ISEE-3

In April the ISEE-3 Reboot Project team - made up of the groups Space College, Skycorp, and SpaceRef - undertook a successful crowd funding project to raise £74,000 ($125,000) to rescue the probe.



Nasa recently officially endorsed the Virginia-based project and signed a space act agreement for the group to take command and control of the 1970s-era craft.

This is the first time Nasa has worked on such an agreement for use of a spacecraft the agency is no longer using or ever planned to use again.

‘The intrepid ISEE-3 spacecraft was sent away from its primary mission to study the physics of the solar wind extending its mission of discovery to study two comets,’ said Nasa astronaut John Grunsfeld.

ISEE-3: THE ORIGINAL MISSION

ISEE-3 was the first satellite to study the constant flow of solar wind streaming toward Earth from a stable orbit point between our planet and the sun known as the Lagrangian 1, or L1. Monitoring that wind helped scientists better understand the interconnected sun-Earth system, which at its most turbulent can affect satellites around Earth. In 1984, it was given a new mission and called the International Cometary Explorer. In September 1985, it passed through the tail of Comet Giacobini-Zinner, making it the first spacecraft to gather data from a comet. It also went on to fly by Comet Halley in March 1986. From 1991 until 1997, when it was too far away for reliable communications, this satellite continued to investigate the sun.

Now it's coming home to visit - making its closest approach to Earth in August before it heads back out to interplanetary space.

‘We have a chance to engage a new generation of citizen scientists through this creative effort to recapture the ISEE-3 spacecraft as it zips by the Earth this summer.’

In March, amateur radio astronomers were able to track the spacecraft and find out its route, raising hopes that the mission could be revived.

Launched in 1978 to study the constant flow of solar wind streaming toward Earth, ISEE-3 successfully completed its prime mission in 1981.

With remaining fuel and functioning instruments, it then was redirected to observe two comets.

Following the end of that mission, the spacecraft continued in orbit around the sun. It is now making its closest approach to Earth in more than 30 years.

The goal of the ISEE-3 Reboot Project is to put the spacecraft into an orbit at a gravitationally stable point between Earth and the sun known as Lagrangian 1 (L1).

Once safely back in orbit, the next step would be to return the spacecraft to operations and use its instruments as they were originally designed.

The mission's original communication hardware no longer exists, so controlling the spacecraft required the amateur group to create virtual software versions of the original hardware. Once proving this was possible, the project is now using the Arecibo Radio Observatory (pictured) in Puerto Rico to send commands to ISEE-3

ISEE-3's close approach in the coming weeks provides optimal conditions to attempt communication.

If communications are unsuccessful, the spacecraft will swing by the moon and continue to orbit the sun.

Nasa said it has shared technical data with these amateur group to help them communicate with and return data from ISEE-3.

The mission’s original communication hardware no longer exists, so controlling the spacecraft will require the amateur group to create virtual software versions of the original hardware.

If they are able to do this, the project will use the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico to send commands to ISEE-3.

New data resulting from the project will be shared with the science community and the public, providing a unique tool for teaching students and the public about spacecraft operations and data gathering.