Voyager 1 is Running Out of Power. NASA Just Switched Part of It Off (npr.org)
- Reference: 0181764484
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/04/19/2346255/voyager-1-is-running-out-of-power-nasa-just-switched-part-of-it-off
- Source link: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/19/nx-s1-5789935/voyager-1-probe-nasa
> The spacecraft runs on a radioisotope thermoelectric generator — a device that converts heat from decaying plutonium into electricity. It carries no solar panels, no rechargeable batteries. Just the slow, steady release of nuclear warmth, which diminishes by about 4 watts each year. After nearly five decades, that decline has become critical.
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> During a routine maneuver in late February, Voyager 1's power levels fell unexpectedly, bringing the probe dangerously close to triggering an automatic fault-protection shutdown — a self-preservation response that would have forced engineers into a lengthy and risky recovery process. The team needed to act first. On April 17, mission engineers sent a sequence of commands to deactivate the Low-energy Charged Particles experiment, known as the LECP, which is one of Voyager 1's remaining science instruments. The LECP has measured ions, electrons, and cosmic rays originating from both our solar system and the galaxy beyond it, helping scientists map the structure of interstellar space in a way no other instrument could...
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> Voyager 1 now carries two operational science instruments: one that listens for plasma waves, and one that measures magnetic fields. Engineers believe the latest shutdown could buy the mission roughly another year of breathing room. The team is also developing a [2]more sweeping power conservation plan they informally call "the Big Bang" — a coordinated swap of several powered components all at once, trading older systems for lower-power alternatives. If testing on Voyager 2, planned for May and June 2026, goes well, the same procedure will be attempted on Voyager 1 no sooner than July. If it works, there is even a slim chance the LECP could once more continue to work.
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> The engineers say they hope to keep at least one instrument operating on each spacecraft into the 2030s. It would leave both still reporting from places no machine has ever gone before.111
Voyager 1 is now 15 billion miles from Earth, the article points out. (Radio signals take 23 hours to arrive...)
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader [3]fahrbot-bot for sharing the article.
[1] https://www.npr.org/2026/04/19/nx-s1-5789935/voyager-1-probe-nasa
[2] https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager/2026/04/17/nasa-shuts-off-instrument-on-voyager-1-to-keep-spacecraft-operating/
[3] https://www.slashdot.org/~fahrbot-bot
Shout out (Score:5, Interesting)
Thanks to all the engineers and scientists who keep this probe functioning. Keep up the amazing work.
Lack of solar panels makes sense (Score:3)
Where Voyager is, they would have already failed to produce enough current years ago.
Built to Last (Score:5, Insightful)
It is amazing Voyager has run this long. This isn't that classic chevy sitting in your garage. This far away solar panels probably would not be worth much.
If anything maybe a bit more plutonium would be helpful. I am sure this mission was never figured it would last this long.
Re: (Score:2)
Pretty much anything past the frost line starts requiring prohibitive amounts of solar panel to get decent power, and Voyager is much, much further than that.
If you could send a refueling mission, it would be for sentimental reasons only. Any vessel you send that could catch up to Voyager would be much better utilized simply carrying a new and improved instrumentation and communications package.
Re: (Score:2)
> Any vessel you send that could catch up to Voyager would be much better utilized simply carrying a new and improved instrumentation and communications package.
Perhaps not catch up to. But serve as a repeater at an intermediate point. If it moves fast enough, it could reduce the power that Voyager must expend to send data back.
Believe me, I know how Voyager feels (Score:2)
I've been working 42 years, and I certainly feel like I might be running out of power. And that's with vacations and weekends off, which poor Voyager doesn't get (perhaps they should've joined a better union?).
Out of plutonium, you say? (Score:1)
Perhaps a fly-by of Pluto is what's called for.
Re:Out of plutonium, you say? (Score:4, Insightful)
Haha. Or we could send Elon himself on a refueling mission.
Variable nuclear power? (Score:1)
I have often wondered if, on space vehicles like this, they could install several packets of radioactive material separated by a moderate distance. As time passes and the radioactivity falls, compensate by moving the packets closer together to get some chain reaction going.
Out of this world. Different world (Score:2)
When this thing was engineered, CDC 6000/7000 systems were still considered supercomputers.
Today it would take over 200,000 of those supercomputers to match what one MacMini can do.
It just shows how critical smart engineers are to an endeavor like this. I'm afraid today someone would just try to prompt it into being.
Re: (Score:1)
Nixon thought they were too woke.
Re: (Score:1)
Assuming you're serious, at those distances there isn't enough solar light energy to do any good.
It was designed for a 5 year lifetime. Obviously it was well designed with large margins. Ahh the good old days.
Re: (Score:2)
They're currently a bit shy of a light day out. Exactly how much energy do you think half century old solar panels would be generating if they had them?
Why don't they... (Score:1)
...just send a tech to refill the plutonium?