NASA engineers have successfully executed a power-saving update dubbed “Big Bang,” extending the operational life of the Voyager 2 probe’s scientific instruments by another year. Nearly 50 years after launch, the spacecraft relies on a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) that converts heat from decaying plutonium into electricity, losing roughly 4 watts of power annually.
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To manage dwindling power reserves over its multi-decade mission, NASA has gradually deactivated 7 of Voyager 2’s original 10 scientific instruments. Without “Big Bang,” the agency would have been forced to shut down a fourth instrument later this year.
- The Strategy: The operation involved turning off specific powered devices simultaneously and shifting functions to lower-power alternatives.
- Thermal Management: Engineers carefully balanced the power drawdown to ensure internal temperatures remain warm enough for the remaining hardware to function in deep space.
- The Result: The probe’s final three active scientific instruments will continue collecting data into next year.
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Voyager 2 launched in 1977, two weeks before its twin, Voyager 1, to conduct a tour of the outer solar system. It reached Jupiter in 1979 before becoming the only spacecraft to visit all four gas giants within a single decade.
In 2018, Voyager 2 crossed the heliopause into interstellar space. From outside the heliosphere, the protective magnetic bubble generated by the Sun, the spacecraft continues to transmit data on the density and temperature of interstellar plasma back to Earth.
