NASA remotely reprogramming Voyager 1 also means that aliens can reprogram all of our satellites.

  • @djsoren19
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    288 months ago

    I mean, sure, technically. They’d have to know English, know the programming language that was used for the probe, know the transmission frequency that the probe accepts, know the boundaries and limitations of the probe so that they don’t actually force any errors, and presumably would need to crack the encryption preventing anyone else from reprogramming Voyager 1. They’d also either need to be able to generate incredibly strong radio waves through space in order to transmit their code, or they’d need to be close enough to us that we’d be able to detect their presence.

    While that’s all technically possible, the odds of it happening are pretty low.

    • @CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world
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      168 months ago

      Crack encryption from the mid 70’s? If there even is any on the Voyager command signal, I couldn’t find a reference to any. But if there is, I’d think modern computers are up to the task.

      They’d also either need to be able to generate incredibly strong radio waves through space

      My guess is that THIS is the actual security feature.

      Not to mention… who would even want to? There’s nothing to gain except slight infamy, if you could even prove you were behind it.