NASA Temporarily Shuts Down Voyager 1 Instrument to Conserve Power

Tue, 05 May 2026 05:06:00 +0200

NASA has turned off the Low-energy Charged Particles (LECP) instrument on Voyager 1, a nearly 50-year-old spacecraft exploring interstellar space, to preserve its limited power supply. Voyager 1, launched in 1977, is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator that loses roughly 4 watts of power annually. This shutdown is part of a long-term plan to extend the spacecraft's operational life while preventing power levels from triggering automatic protective shutdowns. Despite the LECP being offline, Voyager 1 continues to collect data with its remaining instruments that monitor plasma waves and magnetic fields. A small motor of the LECP remains active, allowing the possibility of reactivating the instrument if power allows in the future. Engineers expect this measure to extend Voyager 1's mission by about a year while preparing for a more advanced power-saving strategy, referred to as 'the Big Bang,' which will first be tested on Voyager 2. The bold plan aims to replace several po