NASA Powers Down More Instruments on Voyager Probes

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has decided to deactivate additional systems on its Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft. This strategic move aims to extend the operational lifespan of both probes, ensuring they remain functional for their upcoming 50th anniversary in the 2030s.

On February 25, NASA officials announced that the Cosmic Ray Subsystem aboard Voyager 1 had been turned off. Following this, on March 24, a similar measure will be taken for the low-energy charged particle instrument on Voyager 2. Each probe will still have three instruments operational.

These actions are part of a broader plan to conserve power. The Voyager spacecraft are equipped with radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which produce electricity from the heat released during the decay of plutonium-238. However, these generators lose approximately four watts of power each year, necessitating the shutdown of certain instruments to prolong their missions.

According to the project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Voyagers have been significant contributors to space exploration since their launches in the late 1970s. The depletion of power is becoming critical, and without the deactivation of instruments now, mission managers predict they may only have a few months of operational power left.

The Voyager probes were originally designed with ten instruments each, but many of these were turned off after the probes completed their flybys of the gas giants--Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune. Over the years, NASA has gradually powered down additional instruments to keep the missions alive. More shutdowns are planned in the coming years, with the intent of reaching the milestone 50th anniversary in 2027.

Despite the challenges posed by aging technology, both Voyager spacecraft continue to provide invaluable data from their locations in interstellar space. Voyager 1, which has traveled approximately 25 billion kilometers, crossed the boundary of our solar system in 2012, while Voyager 2 followed suit in 2018, having journeyed about 21 billion kilometers.

As the spacecraft age, they face increasing technical difficulties, including communication interruptions and system failures. Repairing these issues is complicated by the significant time it takes for signals to travel; it takes over 23 hours for a signal to reach Voyager 1 and about 19.5 hours for Voyager 2.