Scientists Take Control of Rogue NASA Probe Launched in 1978

Back in March, Robert Farquhar - a former NASA scientist - told NPR that he planned to intercept the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3) probe after he diverted its route back in 1983. He's closer to fulfilling his promise to NASA.

Farquhar actually defied NASA's orders back in 1983. He and his team of scientists believed they could redirect the ISEE-3 to intercept the Giacobini-Zinner comet months before any other country could intercept the highly anticipated Halley's Comet. NASA was using the ISEE-3 to study solar winds and told Mr. Farquhar that he could not "redirect" or "use" it for anything else.

NASA's orders didn't faze Mr. Farquhar. He and his team of scientists redirected the ISEE-3 and had it intercept the Giacobini-Zinner comet, making the United States the first country to achieve such a feat. While other countries across the world were focusing on intercepting Halley's Comet, NASA decided not to do so because it was expensive. Farquhar's gutsy efforts made history for the U.S. space program, earning him a congratulatory letter from Ronald Reagan, the president at the time.

He told NASA they would get the ISEE-3 back in 2014 when the probe returned closer to Earth and near its original orbital path. On Thursday, Farquhar and his team used the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico to establish two-way communication with the probe, for which they hope to change its current trajectory and get it back to Earth.

"We have successfully commanded both of ISEE-3′s data multiplexers into engineering telemetry mode," project member Keith Cowing noted in a blog post, via this Forbes.com article. "The current bitrate is 512 bits/sec.  We have been able to verify modulated data through ground stations in Germany, Morehead State in Kentucky, and the SETI Allen Array in California."

Communicating with the satellite was previously thought to be impossible due to major advancements in technology since the 1970s and 1980s. Luckily for Farquhar and his team, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory had the right hardware that could communicate with the ISEE-3. NASA then granted permission for scientists to begin utilizing the equipment to see if it could return the satellite back to its original orbit.

From this point on, the scientists plan to access the health of the probe's systems and instruments in order to determine its capabilities (being that it has been floating in space since 1978). Their goal is to put the ISEE-3 on a new path by mid-June to hopefully return it to Earth.