After Decades of Silent Wandering, NASA Probe Phones Home

"You might call it the ultimate long shot — a group of space enthusiasts trying to reestablish contact with a wayward satellite launched in 1978. Figuratively speaking, it's been off the radar for decades."

"No more."

"'The initial contact was a tone followed by specific commands,' project organizer Keith Cowing told NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce by email. "We learned a lot simply by being able to talk to it and get it to do things."

"'May not sound like much but that was a huge unknown,' he adds."