NASA extends Voyager 2 science operations by at least one year
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NASA engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have extended Voyager 2’s science operations by at least one year through a power-saving maneuver. The operation, called the “Big Bang,” shut down power-hungry hardware and switched to lower-energy alternatives while maintaining spacecraft warmth. Without the change, another instrument would have been turned off before the end of 2026.
The Power Crunch
Voyager 2 and its twin rely on radioisotope thermoelectric generators that lose about 4 watts of output annually as their plutonium decays. After 49 years in space, the spacecraft’s power budget has become critically tight. Since 2024, declining levels forced NASA to switch off two science instruments on each Voyager; earlier, others had been shut down after planetary encounters. Each spacecraft originally carried 10 instruments.
The Maneuver
The JPL team simultaneously powered down specific energy-hungry systems and activated lower-power replacements without letting the craft drop below operational temperatures. This freed enough electricity to keep Voyager 2’s three remaining instruments collecting data for an extra year beyond the previous 2026 cutoff. NASA plans to execute the same procedure on Voyager 1 within months.
What's Next
NASA expects to perform the identical power-saving swap on Voyager 1 in the coming months. It remains unclear how long the aging spacecraft can continue operating, given the steady loss of about 4 watts per year.
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NASA extends Voyager 2 science operations by at least one year
