The US space agency NASA announced the shutdown of one of the scientific instruments on board the Voyager 2 probe, in a step to conserve remaining energy and ensure the continued work of the probe, which has been exploring deep space for 47 years. This decision comes within the framework of the agency’s plan to extend the life of the probe for the longest period. Possible.
On November 5, 2018, I confirmed NASA announced that Voyager 2 had left the heliosphere and entered the void between the stars, known as the “interstellar medium.” The probe is now about 20.5 billion kilometers from Earth, continuing to study the new space using the remainder of its energy.
Although the probe is still operating, it has enough energy to operate only one scientific instrument until the next decade, so scientists must choose which instruments should be gradually shut down, knowing that each gradual shutdown reduces the probe’s ability to collect unique and important data, and this Which makes it a decisive and fateful decision.
Strategy to reduce scientific instruments
Since the launch of Voyager 2 in August 1977, officials have been careful to delay the retirement of the 10 scientific instruments as long as possible. Voyager 2, along with Voyager 1, are the only two probes operating outside the heliosphere in deep space, making data What they have in common is of great importance, and with the discontinuation of the plasma spectrometer chosen, the number of scientific instruments remaining in operation has been reduced to only 4.
The plasma spectrometer collects data about the amount and direction of the plasma surrounding the space probe, and it consists of 4 “dishes”, 3 of which are directed towards the sun to monitor the solar wind plasma, while the fourth “dish” was directed with the plasma in the interstellar medium.
In 2018, this tool helped discover the probe’s exit from the heliosphere, as charged particles coming from the sun decreased, indicating that the probe had entered interstellar space. With the passage of time, the role of this tool became limited, which prompted scientists to take… The decision to stop it.
NASA carried out the process of shutting down the plasma spectrometer with great care to avoid any collateral damage that might disrupt the work of other instruments or lose communication with the probe, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory team, which is authorized to manage the Voyager mission, confirmed in press release However, the suspension was successful at the end of last September, which means that the probe continues to operate normally now.
Voyager’s legacy in deep space
Both Voyager probes rely on the energy of decaying plutonium, which is gradually decreasing by 4 watts per year, and NASA had already turned off most of the scientific instruments on board the two probes after completing their missions around Jupiter and Saturn in the 1980s, which contributed to significant energy conservation.
In recent years, engineers also turned off non-essential systems, including heaters, to extend the lives of the two probes, and NASA also retired the same instrument, the plasma spectrometer, on board Voyager 1 in 2007, a procedure it is now repeating with Voyager 2.
Voyager 2’s scientific legacy remains present as an interstellar space explorer, despite the decline in the amount of data it sends, and NASA remains committed to using its remaining capabilities to collect as much data as possible from this exceptional mission that still casts its shadow on Earth despite the vast distances.
