NASA shuts down Voyager 1 instrument to conserve power
Updated
Updated · The Indian Express · May 6
NASA shuts down Voyager 1 instrument to conserve power
15 articles · Updated · The Indian Express · May 6
Engineers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory powered down the low-energy charged particles experiment on 17 April as the nearly 49-year-old probe, over 15 billion miles away, loses about four watts yearly.
NASA said the move should help avoid an automatic fault-protection shutdown and preserve two remaining science instruments studying plasma waves and magnetic fields in interstellar space.
Voyager 1, launched in 1977, remains the most distant human-made object; NASA is also developing a "Big Bang" efficiency upgrade, to be tested first on Voyager 2, that could extend operations further.
Can a 'Big Bang' tech fix, tested 15 billion miles away, revive NASA's dying Voyager 1 probe?
What secrets of interstellar space are we sacrificing to keep the 49-year-old Voyager 1 alive a little longer?
Navigating Power Crisis: Voyager 1’s Instrument Shutdown and the 2026 "Big Bang" Maneuver
Overview
Voyager 1's nuclear power source has steadily declined by about 4 watts per year, reducing its output to less than half of its original capacity by April 2026. This power loss forced NASA to implement a long-term strategy of shutting down non-essential systems to preserve critical functions. A routine spacecraft roll in February 2026 caused a power drain that risked triggering an automatic fault shutdown. To prevent this, NASA deactivated the LECP instrument in April 2026, sacrificing nearly 49 years of valuable data but extending the mission by about a year. Looking ahead, NASA plans a risky 'Big Bang' maneuver to reconfigure power use, aiming to restore power and possibly reactivate LECP, though failure could lead to further instrument shutdowns and mission end by 2030-2036.