{"id":545437,"date":"2026-04-22T22:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T22:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/545437\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T22:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T22:44:11","slug":"nasa-forced-to-shut-down-instrument-aboard-voyager-1-ahead-of-risky-big-bang-manoeuvre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/545437\/","title":{"rendered":"Nasa forced to SHUT DOWN instrument aboard Voyager 1 ahead of risky ‘Big Bang’ manoeuvre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nasa engineers transmitted commands to Voyager 1 to shut down a key component ahead of a risky energy-saving procedure dubbed “the Big Bang”. <\/p>\n

Scientists sent a signal to the vessel to power down its Low-Energy Charged Particle (LECP) experiment, an instrument that has monitored ions, electrons and cosmic rays almost continuously since the probe’s 1977 launch.<\/p>\n

The decision marks another difficult step in managing the ageing spacecraft’s dwindling energy reserves as it travels through interstellar space.<\/p>\n

However, agencies have insisted the team remains committed to keeping both Voyager spacecraft operational for as long as feasible.<\/p>\n

Kareem Badaruddin, Voyager mission manager at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said: “While shutting down a science instrument is not anybody’s preference, it is the best option available.<\/p>\n

“Voyager 1 still has two remaining operating science instruments, one that listens to plasma waves and one that measures magnetic fields. <\/p>\n

“They are still working great, sending back data from a region of space no other human-made craft has ever explored.”<\/p>\n

Voyager 1 holds the distinction of being humanity’s most distant artificial object, currently positioned more than 15 billion miles from Earth as it moves through the void between stars.<\/p>\n

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Voyager 1 has been forced to shut a component<\/p>\n

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The spacecraft departed Earth nearly five decades ago with an initial brief to examine Jupiter and Saturn, but its mission was repeatedly extended as it continued functioning far beyond expectations.<\/p>\n

In 2012, the probe achieved a historic milestone by crossing into interstellar space, becoming the first human-made object to transmit data from beyond our solar system’s boundaries.<\/p>\n

Both Voyager 1 and its sibling Voyager 2 draw their power from radioisotope thermoelectric generators, devices that convert heat from decaying plutonium into electrical energy.<\/p>\n

However, this power source diminishes by approximately 4 watts annually, creating an increasingly precarious situation for mission controllers.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

The universal message of friendship inscribed on the side of Voyager 1<\/p>\n

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Power margins have become critically thin, forcing engineers to progressively disable heaters and scientific equipment whilst ensuring the spacecraft remain warm enough to prevent their fuel lines from freezing.<\/p>\n

The urgency to act intensified following an unexpected power drop during a routine roll manoeuvre on February 27. <\/p>\n

Mission controllers grew concerned any further decline could activate Voyager 1’s undervoltage fault protection system, an automated safeguard designed to shut down components independently to protect the probe.<\/p>\n

Recovering from such an automatic fault would be a lengthy process carrying additional risks, prompting engineers to take pre-emptive action rather than allow the spacecraft to make the decision itself.<\/p>\n

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Voyager 1 and 2 are journeying through the stars<\/p>\n

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The LECP shutdown means just two of Voyager 1’s original ten scientific instruments continue to function, whilst its twin Voyager 2 retains three operational instruments.<\/p>\n

Notably, Voyager 2’s own LECP instrument was deactivated in March 2025.<\/p>\n

The science and engineering teams had agreed years ago on the sequence in which systems would be powered down as available energy declined.<\/p>\n

Engineers are now preparing an ambitious energy-saving procedure dubbed “the Big Bang” they hope will extend operations for both Voyager spacecraft.<\/p>\n

The plan involves simultaneously replacing multiple powered components with lower-power alternatives, allowing the probes to maintain sufficient warmth to continue collecting scientific data.<\/p>\n

JPL intends to trial the procedure on Voyager 2 during May and June, as that spacecraft has greater power reserves and sits slightly closer to Earth. Should those tests prove successful, the more hazardous attempt on Voyager 1 would proceed no earlier than July.<\/p>\n

The shutdown of the LECP is expected to buy roughly one year of additional operational time, but mission managers are hopeful the Big Bang procedure could yield further gains.<\/p>\n

Encouragingly, engineers opted to keep a small half-watt motor within the LECP system running, preserving the possibility of reactivating the instrument should sufficient power become available in future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nasa engineers transmitted commands to Voyager 1 to shut down a key component ahead of a risky energy-saving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[50,90,2331,416,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-545437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-news","tag-science","tag-sgg","tag-space","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}