NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has been in space for nearly 50 years, enduring the harsh environment of outer space while teams on the ground figure out ways to keep its aging hardware from falling apart. In the latest attempt to keep Voyager alive, engineers managed to bring the spacecraft’s old thrusters back to life after […]
Keeping Voyager Alive: NASA’s Project Scientist Faces Painful Choices as the Iconic Mission Nears Its End
In 1977, two probes launched less than a month apart on a mission to the great beyond. The twin Voyager spacecraft were to travel where no other mission had gone before, exploring what lies outside the vast bubble that surrounds our solar system, beyond the influence of our host star. Voyager 1 reached the beginning […]
NASA Shuts Off Voyager Science Instrument, More Power Cuts Ahead to Keep Both Probes Going
The Voyager spacecraft have been cruising through interstellar space for more than 47 years, collecting precious data on the vast cosmos. All that traveling has taken a toll on the farthest human-made objects, and the spacecraft’s days are numbered. NASA engineers are resorting to shutting off science instruments on both Voyager probes to keep the two […]