By — Adithi Ramakrishnan, Associated Press Adithi Ramakrishnan, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/nasa-switches-off-a-scientific-instrument-on-voyager-2-to-extend-spacecrafts-lifespan Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter NASA switches off a scientific instrument on Voyager 2 to extend spacecraft’s lifespan Science Oct 2, 2024 6:49 PM EDT NEW YORK (AP) — To save power, NASA has switched off another scientific instrument on its long-running Voyager 2 spacecraft. The space agency said Tuesday that Voyager 2’s plasma science instrument — designed to measure the flow of charged atoms — was powered down in late September so the spacecraft can keep exploring for as long as possible, expected into the 2030s. WATCH: A look at NASA’s new images of Io, Jupiter’s ‘tortured moon’ NASA turned off a suite of instruments on Voyager 2 and its twin Voyager 1 after they explored the gas giant planets in the 1980s. Both are currently in interstellar space, or the space between stars. The plasma instrument on Voyager 1 stopped working long ago and was finally shut down in 2007. Four remaining instruments on Voyager 2 will continue collecting information about magnetic fields and particles. Its goal is to study the swaths of space beyond the sun’s protective bubble. Launched in 1977, Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to visit Uranus and Neptune. It’s currently more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) from Earth. Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth. By — Adithi Ramakrishnan, Associated Press Adithi Ramakrishnan, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — To save power, NASA has switched off another scientific instrument on its long-running Voyager 2 spacecraft. The space agency said Tuesday that Voyager 2’s plasma science instrument — designed to measure the flow of charged atoms — was powered down in late September so the spacecraft can keep exploring for as long as possible, expected into the 2030s. WATCH: A look at NASA’s new images of Io, Jupiter’s ‘tortured moon’ NASA turned off a suite of instruments on Voyager 2 and its twin Voyager 1 after they explored the gas giant planets in the 1980s. Both are currently in interstellar space, or the space between stars. The plasma instrument on Voyager 1 stopped working long ago and was finally shut down in 2007. Four remaining instruments on Voyager 2 will continue collecting information about magnetic fields and particles. Its goal is to study the swaths of space beyond the sun’s protective bubble. Launched in 1977, Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to visit Uranus and Neptune. It’s currently more than 12 billion miles (19.31 billion kilometers) from Earth. Voyager 1 is over 15 billion miles (24.14 billion kilometers) from Earth.