Voyager 2 was launched 33 years ago, and it's been collecting science data that whole time. Last month it started sending back bogus data (from almost 9 billion miles away). Engineers at JPL diagnosed the problem, figured out how to fix it, transmitted new software to the satellite, and rebooted its computer. When the computer restarted, the problem had been fixed – and Voyager 2 is now returning data normally again.
I can't think of anything I've owned for 33 years that's still functional, and certainly nothing even close to the complexity of Voyager 2. And that's in our nice, protected, radiation-free home on Planet Earth! I'm amazed at what our little fleet of space-faring robots has managed to accomplish. Voyager 2, like so many others, just keeps plodding along, sending back tons of good science data and contributing much to our understanding of our local part of the universe...
