Far beyond the boundaries of our solar system, NASA has switched off another scientific instrument on Voyager 1 to conserve energy as it continues its journey through interstellar space. The move is aimed at preserving the spacecraft’s limited power supply.
The deactivated instrument, called the Low-energy Charged Particles experiment (LECP), was used to study the structure of interstellar space. The same instrument had already been turned off on Voyager 2 in March 2025.
Launched in 1977, both Voyager spacecraft were equipped with 10 scientific instruments each to study planets including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Today, Voyager 1 is about 25.4 billion km away from Earth, while Voyager 2 is around 21.35 billion km away. They remain the only active spacecraft operating beyond the heliosphere, the Sun’s outer magnetic boundary extending past Pluto.
The probes are powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which convert heat from decaying plutonium into electricity. Over nearly 5 decades, they have been losing about 4 watts of power each year. This steady decline has required engineers to gradually switch off instruments to extend the missions beyond their original 5-year lifespan.
During a planned roll maneuver on February 27, the mission team noticed an unexpected drop in Voyager 1’s power levels. These maneuvers help calibrate the magnetometer, which studies magnetic fields in interstellar space. A further drop could have triggered the spacecraft’s automatic failsafe, known as the undervoltage fault protection system.
The LECP instrument had been operating for nearly 49 years, measuring ions, electrons and cosmic rays from both the solar system and the Milky Way galaxy. Its data provided key insights into regions beyond the heliosphere with different densities. The system included a telescope and a magnetospheric particle analyzer capable of 360-degree observations using a rotating platform powered by a stepper motor.
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