Voyager 2 can send science back from interstellar space a little longer.
NASA’s long-running Voyager 2 mission will postpone the shutdown of the instrument for three years until 2026, thanks to a technical feat by engineers. The changes will allow the mission, which was launched in 1977, to gather valuable science in deep space.
“We’re certainly interested in keeping as many science instruments as possible for as long as possible,” Linda Spilker, Voyager project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California, said of the decision. (opens in a new tab) Wednesday (April 26)
Voyager 2 and its twin, Voyager 1, will thus continue to collect valuable data deeper into space than any probe before them. An ongoing investigation, NASA says (opens in a new tab)includes the study of the sun’s magnetic field, the energy of the solar wind emanating from our sun, and radio emissions into interstellar space.
Related: After 45 years, Voyager 2’s 5-billion-year legacy is just beginning
Both Voyagers are powered by nuclear power because the sun’s rays are too weak to produce solar energy in deep space so far. The radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) they use decay over time, meaning the plutonium produces slightly less energy each year.
Engineers have already turned off the heaters along with other non-essential systems to prioritize science on the powerful spacecraft. But power is now so low that tough decisions had to be made this year about Voyager 2’s five science instruments. (Voyager 1 only has four in operation because one instrument failed early in its run, so it will have enough power for all until 2024.)
Solving Voyager 2’s power problems involved removing the protection normally available to prevent electrical surges from damaging the spacecraft’s instruments. This protection is called a voltage regulator. This regulator activates a backup circuit that draws an extra portion of power from the RTG as surge protection in case of problems.
“Instead of reserving this power, the mission will now use it to keep science instruments running,” NASA officials wrote in a statement. The decision will make it easier to regulate the spacecraft’s voltage, but both Voyagers have experienced “relatively stable” power levels, “reducing the need for a safety net.”
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Engineers will monitor the success of this strategy on Voyager 2. If all goes well, Voyager 1 will use the same technique as it begins to run out of power next year, NASA officials said. They noted that everything on Voyager 2 was working fine for a few weeks with the new procedure.
“Variable voltage poses a risk to the instruments, but we’ve determined that this is a small risk and the alternative offers a large reward by keeping the science instruments powered up longer,” said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager at JPL. said in the same statement.
Both Voyagers were expected to last just four years in space and gather solar system science at Jupiter and Saturn. A mission extension in 1981 allowed Voyager 2 to eventually fly past Uranus and Neptune, making it the only spacecraft to do so yet. After the Saturn flyby, Voyager 1 was high above the plane of the Solar System, but because of the extension, the spacecraft collected valuable solar data from its trajectory.
Another mission extension in 1990 was intended to take Voyager into interstellar space. Voyager 1 passed through the region in 2012, while the slower-moving Voyager 2 reached the milestone in 2018.
Elizabeth Howell is the co-writer of “”.Why am I taller? (opens in a new tab)?” (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book about space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @howellspace (opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab) or Facebook (opens in a new tab).
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