NASA's 'Big Bang' Power Swap Extends Voyager 2's Deep-Space Mission
TL;DR Summary
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory used a 'Big Bang' power-saving plan on Voyager 2 to shut down nonessential systems and swap in lower-power options, conserving energy from its aging radioisotope thermoelectric generators to extend the science mission by about a year; Voyager 1 will undergo the same adjustment soon.
- NASA Just Found a Clever Way To Keep Voyager 2 Alive in Deep Space SciTechDaily
- Voyager 2 is nearly 50 years old, losing about 4 watts of power every year as its plutonium power source fades — and NASA just bought it at least another year of science with an all-at-once power-system swap engineers called the “Big Bang,” performed on a Space Daily
- NASA Orders 'Power Diet' for Voyager 2, Extending Observation Life by One Year finance.biggo.com
- Voyager 2 Gets More Time, but Its Historic Cameras Have Been Silent Since 1989 PTTL.gr
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