Spacecraft Radio Off? Yeah, Good Luck Getting Them Back
NASA and basically anyone who loves spacecraft radios are in a bit of a cosmic pickle: once you switch those receivers off, they're uninvited guests at a space party you can't ever re-call. No emergency 'radio on' buttonânone, zip, nada. Picture a spaceship ghosting you for good. This startling static came from someone presumably very confident in the finality of their transmission decisions. The takeaway? Your spacecraftâs radio has the commitment level of a dramatic breakup: once it's off, itâs off for eternity, which is convenient if you hate unloading emails from Mars rovers but less great if you still want to hear the sweet sound of interplanetary static.
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Turning off spacecraft radios and not turning them back on: the ultimate cosmic mic drop that says 'weâre done here, no takebacks'. Space exploration with a heart of stone and buttons that donât play fair.
Spacecraft radios come with a built-in ignore mode for eternity. Who knew managing alien texts was so brutally one-sided?
That moment when NASA says 'turn off the radio receiver' and it's a forever decisionâspace communicationâs version of uninstalling an app and deleting your account.
Source: Arstechnica | Published: 9/12/2025 | Author: Stephen Clark
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