After more than 45 years in space, the power supply of the space probe "Voyager 2" becomes a problem.
A NASA team has now found a solution.
Pasadena – The space probes “Voyager 1” and “Voyager 2” have been in space since they were launched in the summer of 1977 – an astonishingly long runtime that nobody had predicted.
The two probes of the US space agency Nasa have been flying through space for more than 45 years and have already left the heliosphere - a region determined by the sun's particles and magnetic fields - behind.
The scientific data collected by the probes will allow experts to understand the shape of the heliosphere and its role in shielding the Earth from radiation from space.
Linda Spilker, the Voyager project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said in a statement, "The scientific data Voyager sends back to Earth becomes more valuable as it travels farther from the Sun." Therefore, the goal is to operate as many scientific instruments as possible for as long as possible.
After 45 years in space: Voyager 2's power supply is a problem
But after more than 45 years in space, the power supply for the two space probes "Voyager 1" and "Voyager 2" is slowly becoming a problem.
Both probes are powered by radionuclide batteries (RTGs), which convert heat from the radioactive decay of plutonium into electrical energy.
However, the generators produce slightly less electricity every year.
So far, however, this has had no impact on the scientific work of the space probes, because non-scientific instruments - such as heaters - have been switched off again and again to have enough power for the scientific work.
This is how the Hubble Space Telescope sees the solar system
This is how the Hubble Space Telescope sees the solar system
But now the time has come for "Voyager 2": Next, one of the five scientific instruments has to be switched off in order to be able to provide enough power for the remaining devices.
With "Voyager 1" this problem will not arise until next year, since only four instruments are still active on the probe - one of which already failed at the beginning of the mission.
NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft gets backup power from a safety mechanism
A team at JPL has now found a solution to continue to supply power to the important scientific instruments on board the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
In the future, "Voyager 2" will receive the reserve power of a safety mechanism that is actually supposed to compensate for voltage fluctuations on board.
All five scientific instruments should be able to continue to be operated temporarily.
"Even after more than 45 years, the electrical systems of both probes remain relatively stable, so that a safety net is not required," says the JPL statement.
In addition, the engineering team can monitor the voltage from Earth and react if it fluctuates too much.
"We found that the risk is low and the alternative offers great reward because the scientific instruments can stay on longer," said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project leader at JPL.
After the engineering team had observed the "Voyager 2" spacecraft in recent weeks and the new approach worked, it is also to be applied to "Voyager 1" as soon as the power supply there becomes scarce.
NASA's "Voyager" space probes were to explore space for four years
The two Voyager spacecraft were originally developed for a four-year mission to visit the planets Saturn and Jupiter.
However, NASA had extended the mission, and "Voyager 2" eventually also visited the ice giants Neptune and Uranus.
To date, it is considered the only spacecraft that has paid a visit to the two icy giant planets.
Recently, researchers have found evidence of a special phenomenon around the planet Uranus in old data from the "Voyager 2" probe.
This article was created with the help of machines and carefully checked by the editor Tanja Banner before publication.
