The electrical power source on Voyager vehicles is gradually failing and the overall system power is decreasing. Scientists shut down two scientific instruments that are hardly used anymore in order to prolong the vehicle’s operation.
Voyager vehicles
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who are working on the Voyager mission recently had to turn off one research instrument on each of the mission’s two vehicles. This was done to give the rest of the equipment a chance to operate for as long as possible while the old probe’s power system was gradually failing.
The Voyager spacecraft launched into space in 1977 is certainly one of mankind’s greatest achievements. Launched into space many decades ago, they have managed to exceed their originally planned lifespan many times over. These probes were the first and so far the only human-made facilities operating outside the Solar System.
However, time takes its toll and Voyager’s power plant is gradually weakening by about 4 watts per year and there is not enough power for all systems. That’s why engineers gradually turn off those devices that give out the minimum of useful information, extending the life of more important instruments.
What did the scientists turn off?
Overall, each of the Voyager vehicles is complete with a set of 10 identical scientific instruments, most of which have been out of service for a long time. This time, the Voyager 1 spacecraft turned off its cosmic ray fixing instrument, which consisted of three telescopes. It once helped determine that this vehicle had traveled beyond the Solar System.
The Voyager 2 spacecraft will turn off its low-charged particle detector, which measures various ions and electrons, at the end of March. Both systems utilize a rotating platform, so they have a 360 degree field of view. The unit itself is powered by a stepper motor that delivers a 15.7 W pulse every 192 seconds.
The engine is rated for 500,000 steps — enough to guarantee continuous operation during the mission’s collisions with Saturn, which occurred for Voyager 2 in August 1980. However, it has far surpassed that figure. By the time it is deactivated, the engine will have taken more than 8.5 million steps.
What will be left to work?
After turning off the specified Voyager 1 and 2 devices, three scientific instruments each continue to operate on them. Therefore, research continues. The first spacecraft will continue to operate with its magnetometer and plasma wave subsystem. The spacecraft’s low-energy charged particle instrument will operate until the end of 2025, but will be shut down next year.
Voyager 2 will continue to operate with its magnetic field and plasma wave instruments for the foreseeable future. Its space radiation subsystem is scheduled to shut down in 2026. All this is being done with the expectation that at least one instrument on each of the vehicles will continue to operate into the early 2030s.
According to phys.org
