NASA Swaps Voyager 2 Devices to Save 10 Watts, Extending 49-Year Mission

3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Aug 21

NASA replaced some Voyager 2 hardware with lower-power alternatives in August, a change it says should keep the probe’s instruments operating for at least another year.
The swap is meant to conserve electricity while keeping the spacecraft warm enough to function, as both Voyager probes lose about 4 watts of power each year.
Voyager 2 is now more than 13.2 billion miles from Earth and moving through interstellar space at 34,000 mph; NASA plans the same modification for Voyager 1.
Launched in 1977 for a four-year planetary tour, Voyager 2 became the only spacecraft to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and remains part of NASA’s longest-lived mission.

Sources

Business Insider62d ago

NASA Extends Voyager 2 Mission Life with Lower-Power Device Swap

The New York Times65d ago

NASA Engineers Maintain Aging Voyager 1 and 2 Probes

spacedaily.com67d ago

NASA's "Big Bang" Power Swap Saves Voyager 2 Instruments

13 Sources

What unprecedented cosmic secrets might Voyager 2's final three instruments uncover before its decaying nuclear battery finally goes dark?

Could the risky Big Bang maneuver that saved Voyager 2 actually spell disaster for Voyager 1's upcoming system update?

How did NASA successfully hack a 49-year-old spacecraft billions of miles away to cheat death in interstellar space?

Voyager 2’s 2026 “Big Bang” Maneuver: Engineering, Science, and the Race to Prolong Humanity’s Interstellar Legacy

Overview

Voyager 2’s power source, plutonium-238, naturally decays, causing the spacecraft to lose about 4 watts of electricity each year. By 2026, this steady decline left Voyager 2 with critically low power, forcing NASA engineers to perform the risky 'Big Bang' maneuver to keep its science instruments running. Thanks to this effort, Voyager 2’s instruments are expected to operate at least one more year. As power continues to drop, more instruments are shut down, and eventually, when the electrical output falls below the minimum needed for transmission—estimated around 2036—Voyager 2 will fall silent, ending its historic mission of interstellar exploration.

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