The Voyager Spacecraft and Human Ingenuity

The twin Voyager probes launched from Cape Canaveral in August (Voyager 2) and September (Voyager 1) of 1977. The original mission was designed to explore Jupiter and Saturn with the hope the probes would last the four years it would take to get there. They did. So the mission was extended to send Voyager 2 to Uranus and Neptune while sending Voyager 1 into interstellar space. Voyager 2 encountered Neptune August 25, 1989. The probes chugged along. In fact, they are still chugging along as of today.

There are five teams at JPL and NASA dedicated to collecting and analyzing data from these spacecraft. By the end of this year, the probes were going to have to shut off some of the instruments due to the declining power supply from the decaying plutonium (they lose about 4 watts per year).

However, engineers continue to find ways to eke more power from the technologically ancient craft. This time they turned to a backup power supply that helps maintain a consistent voltage. This adds increased risk of damaging the instruments but the benefit far outweighs the risk. They are running out of options to keep all the instruments running so they will eventually begin shutting them down, one-by-one. Until then, they will continue providing valuable scientific data about the universe.

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4 May 2023