Voyager 1 May Get a Lifeline With Bold Power-Swap to Extend Interstellar Mission
Voyager 1 has shut down its Low-energy Charged Particles (LECP) instrument to conserve power as it travels farther into interstellar space. NASA plans a bold, one-shot power-swap—a “Big Bang” fix—by turning off some systems and switching to lower-power options, first on Voyager 2 and then on Voyager 1, to keep two remaining instruments alive for about a year and potentially extend the mission toward its 50th anniversary, with the hope LECP could be revived later if power allows.