NASA is shutting down parts of Voyager 1 and 2 to extend their lifespan

Nearly 50 years after they were first launched, Voyager 1 and 2 are still traveling around interstellar space — though they’ve faced some setbacks over the years. Now, NASA has announced that the twin Voyager spacecraft are losing some of their features in a bid to extend their lifespans in the face of a diminishing power supply.

On February 25, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) turned off Voyager 1’s cosmic ray subsystem experiment and on March 25, it will shut down Voyager 2’s low-energy charged particle instrument.

“The Voyagers have been deep space rock stars since launch, and we

→ Continue reading at Engadget

Similar Articles

Advertisment

Most Popular