Voyager 1 Shuts Down 49-Year LECP Instrument to Gain 1 More Year
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · May 15
Voyager 1 Shuts Down 49-Year LECP Instrument to Gain 1 More Year
7 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · May 15
NASA engineers switched off Voyager 1’s Low-energy Charged Particles experiment on April 17 after a February roll manoeuvre pushed power readings close to the spacecraft’s automatic undervoltage shutdown threshold.
The planned shutdown was meant to avoid a riskier autonomous fault response and save enough electricity to buy roughly one more year of operating margin as the craft’s RTGs lose about 4 watts annually.
Voyager 1 now runs only two science instruments—the plasma wave subsystem and magnetometer—after 7 of the 10 original instruments carried by the twin spacecraft have been turned off.
Power has fallen to about 220 watts from roughly 470 watts at launch in 1977, even as Voyager 1 remains 172.59 AU from Earth with a one-way signal time of more than 23 hours.
JPL plans a broader low-power reconfiguration called Big Bang on Voyager 2 in May and June, with Voyager 1 potentially following from July; success could keep at least one instrument operating into the 2030s.
As Voyager 1 powers down, can new nuclear tech ensure future probes don't face the same slow death?
Could a risky power-swap resurrect Voyager's instruments for one last discovery before its final silence?
Was sacrificing Voyager's instrument a wise choice, or did we lose priceless data from interstellar space?
Voyager 1 Powers Down LECP After 49 Years: The Fight to Extend Humanity’s Interstellar Mission
Overview
On April 17, 2026, Voyager 1’s Low-energy Charged Particles (LECP) instrument was officially shut down as part of a strategic decision by the Voyager science and engineering teams. This move was made to conserve power and ensure the longevity of the spacecraft, following a similar shutdown on Voyager 2 in March 2025. The mission team, led by Kareem Badaruddin, aims to keep both Voyagers operational for as long as possible. Despite the LECP shutdown, Voyager 1 continues to collect valuable data with its two remaining science instruments, focusing on plasma waves and magnetic fields as it travels through interstellar space.