NASA Powers Down Voyager 1 Instrument to Prolong Historic Space Mission

53 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · Apr 20

NASA has shut down the Low-energy Charged Particles instrument on Voyager 1 to conserve power after an unexpected drop during a maneuver.
This leaves only two science instruments operational on the spacecraft, which is over 15 billion miles from Earth and nearly 50 years into its mission.
Engineers hope this move will extend Voyager 1's life while they prepare a broader energy-saving plan to keep the probe sending back unique interstellar data.

Could NASA's 'Big Bang' plan actually bring one of Voyager's dead instruments back to life?

With its power fading, what is the last great mystery Voyager 1 must solve before going silent forever?

Was shutting down Voyager's instrument a premature move, sacrificing irreplaceable data from deep space?

How will future probes to other stars avoid the slow death by power loss that plagues the Voyagers?

When Voyager 1 finally goes dark, what will be its ultimate fate as it drifts through the cosmos?

With both Voyager probes now partially blind, what crucial cosmic data are we losing forever?