Voyager 1, the farthest human-made object from Earth, just got a second wind thanks to some clever work from NASA engineers. Launched in 1977, the spacecraft is now over 15 billion miles away. After 47 years in space, its aging thrusters—vital for keeping the craft pointed toward Earth—had nearly failed. Without a working system to stay properly oriented, Voyager 1 would eventually lose communication, especially with a planned upgrade to the Earth-based antenna that sends and receives commands. But in a surprising turn, NASA managed to bring its dormant backup thrusters back to life after more than two decades of silence.

The backup thrusters had been in use since 2004, when the main ones became unusable due to broken heater circuits needed to warm the fuel. Over time, even the backups started clogging with residue. This threatened the spacecraft’s ability to stay aligned with a reference star it uses to maintain communication with Earth. Just when things looked grim, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory performed a near-miraculous fix, reviving the long-inactive thrusters and extending Voyager 1’s lifespan through at least next year.

This rescue buys time to continue gathering valuable data from interstellar space, where Voyager 1 has been traveling since leaving the Sun’s protective bubble in 2012. With this fix, a little piece of Earth keeps pushing further into the cosmos.