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.

[...]

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

[lastlib]

1. Amazing machines!

it would be really neat to see where they are at 50 years after launch.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. That means ... amazing engineers too. Some weren't born until after original engineers died

45 years. (my surmise, but on flip side it could also be true that an original engineer is just now retiring)

[NBachers]

2. I love reading news about the Voyager flights.

[lastlib]

11. It will be a sad day indeed when we lose contact with them.

[Thunderbeast]

3. I wish that the treasure we are spending on manned missions...

...would be re-deployed to develop and maintain these powerful robots.

Maintaining us carbon-based life forms in the hostile environment of space carries too much overhead. Fifty years ago, Carl Sagan advocated a machines-only approach to space exploration.

I think he was right.

[localroger]

7. The Mars rovers have been miraculous

I mean yes, it's kind of sexy to have humans exploring space, but it's also pretty goddamn expensive. And modern computers can do so much more than we ever dreamed in the 1970's. The light speed delay problem with Mars exploration was considered a show stopper for rovers until we had computers that could independently evaluate the landscape around them and drive themselves. I did not really even believe that was possible until I saw the videos returned by Spirit and Odyssey.

[NNadir]

12. +1000

[brush]

4. Wonder what kind of info they're getting from them?

They've both passed the leliopause and into interstellar space...my God, what amazing engineering. Hats of to NASA.

[localroger]

6. The computers in those things were built in the early 1970's

I remember machines of that class, though not rated for space travel obviously but younger people might have no way to even imagine how primitive those things are. They were truly miraculous feats of engineering for their age and the fact that they are still working today proves the skill of their designers.

[moniss]

8. Just think of

how much of our rocketry and space programs began with guys on slide-rules. I doubt very many people today can use one. Almost like a dial telephone to some people. I guess somewhere there is probably a video of kids trying to tap the numbers on the dial to make it work. It's like people today being faced with a wringer washer. I'm not judging one over the other but just saying it is amusing to be a person familiar with those things and watching people try to figure it out after many years since they were commonly used.

[Baked Potato]

9. Amazing machines and engineers. Nt

[keithbvadu2]

10. Not only amazing that they can do it but someone thought of building that feature those many years a

Not only amazing that they can do it but someone thought of building that feature those many years ago.

[NNadir]

13. Powered by plutonium. reliable and continuous.

[electric_blue68]

14. Our far travelers! Ty, engineers, et al Amazing!