NASA Extends Voyager Probes’ Lifespan with Heat-Power Upgrade
NASA completed a 'Big Bang' upgrade on Voyager 2 to save about 10 watts of power by reconfiguring instruments and heat distribution, extending its mission by 2–3 years; plans are underway to apply the same upgrade to Voyager 1 in the coming months, which could keep both spacecraft operational into the 2030s as their plutonium power sources gradually fade while they continue their vast journeys through the outer solar system.