NASA Extends Voyager Probes’ Mission to Reach 50 Years

NASA engineers have recently made adjustments to extend the lifespans of the Voyager 1 and 2 probes, which have been traveling beyond our solar system for nearly 50 years. In a bid to save power, the team has ordered these deep-space probes to shut down two of their instruments.

Originally Designed for a Short Life Span

Launched in 1977 from what was then Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, the Voyager probes were originally designed to last only about five years, with the goal of visiting Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. However, the spacecraft’s robust design led to multiple mission extensions, keeping them operational for 47 years, and they are expected to continue functioning until their nuclear power sources are depleted.

The Voyagers are extraordinary for several reasons. They were the third and fourth spacecraft to explore Jupiter and Saturn, with Voyager 2 also becoming the first to visit Uranus and Neptune. Their findings far surpassed those of the Pioneer 10 and 11 missions, offering a wealth of data. Additionally, they became the first probes to leave our solar system and venture into interstellar space.

Not only are they the oldest active spacecraft, but they are also the longest-running missions in space. To put it in perspective, everyone who worked on the original project has either retired or passed away, and the spacecraft’s manuals and blueprints are now aging. Even the software is so old that only a few individuals, familiar with the original code, are able to troubleshoot any issues.

Voyager’s Vast Distance from Earth

The probes are now incredibly far from Earth—Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (25 billion km) away, and Voyager 2 is about 13 billion miles (21 billion km) from our planet. It can take almost two days for a radio signal to reach the probes and return. Maintaining these aging spacecraft while they endure the extreme cold and cosmic radiation of deep space has been a challenging task.

Throughout their missions, the Voyagers have faced computer malfunctions, communication failures, and thruster issues. However, the biggest challenge lies in their power sources: the radio-thermal generators (RTGs), which supply electricity to keep the probes operational and prevent freezing. As the supply of plutonium-238 decreases, the power output of the RTGs drops by about four watts per year. In 1977, they produced 470 watts, but by 2023, this had decreased to 250 watts. As a result, power conservation has become a critical priority for NASA’s engineers.

Each Voyager initially had 10 experiments, in addition to communication and support systems. Over time, many of these instruments have been turned off or reconfigured to save power. NASA recently shut down the cosmic ray subsystem experiment on Voyager 1 on February 25, 2025, and will turn off the low-energy charged particle instrument on Voyager 2 on March 24. After these adjustments, the team will keep only three experiments active: the Magnetometer (MAG) and Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS) on both probes, along with an additional Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS) on Voyager 2, which they will switch off in 2026.

Extending the Mission: New Power Management Strategies

With new power management techniques, NASA aims to extend the Voyagers’ operational lives until 2030 or even beyond—an impressive feat since the RTGs were originally expected to last only until this year. Eventually, though, the probes will reach a point where their power will be too low for any systems to function, forcing Mission Control to order a complete shutdown.

Even after that day arrives, the Voyager probes will still carry out their mission.They have anodized records attached to their bodies, containing sounds and images from Earth—a cosmic greeting to any alien civilizations that may discover them tens of thousands of years from now.

“The Voyager spacecraft have far surpassed their original mission to study the outer planets,” said Patrick Koehn, Voyager program scientist. “Every additional bit of data we’ve collected since then not only enriches our understanding of heliophysics but also serves as a testament to the remarkable engineering that has kept the Voyagers going, nearly 50 years later.”

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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