NASA Power Hack Extends 45-Year Voyager 2 Mission Until 2026

[NullTuples]

A recent adjustment, in which the probe redirects a tiny amount of power meant for an onboard safety system, means all five scientific instruments aboard Voyager 2 can stay active until 2026, according to a NASA Jet Propulsion Lab press release. There’s a modicum of risk involved, as the affected system protects Voyager 2 from voltage irregularities, but NASA says the probe can now keep its science instruments turned on for a while longer.

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Generators on both probes [V'Ger 1 and V'ger2] lose power each year as the result of a continual decay process. This hasn’t affected their science gathering, but mission planners have had to turn off heaters and other non-essential systems to compensate for the ongoing power loss. For Voyager 2, it was getting to the stage where one science instrument needed to be turned off soon—as early as next year.

As a result of the newly implemented hack, Voyager 2 is now using a small amount of backup power provisioned for an onboard safety mechanism designed to protect the craft from potentially damaging voltage spikes. The probe is stealing some of this juice—not a lot—to keep all five of its science instruments on.

“​​Although the spacecraft’s voltage will not be tightly regulated as a result, even after more than 45 years in flight, the electrical systems on both probes remain relatively stable, minimizing the need for a safety net,” according to NASA JPL. “The engineering team is also able to monitor the voltage and respond if it fluctuates too much. If the new approach works well for Voyager 2, the team may implement it on Voyager 1 as well.”

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-power-hack-extends-voyager-2-mission-science-1850378890