While power conservation has become an increasingly important part of maintaining Voyager 2, it’s not the first time scientific instruments were disabled to conserve energy.
Many instruments were turned off after exiting the solar system, as they were primarily useful for learning about passing planets. Both crafts launched with 10 different scientific devices, the majority of which have either been turned off or stopped functioning.
As Voyager 2 approaches its 50th year in space, it’s amazing that it’s still sending useful information back to Earth from 12.8 billion miles away. It’s collecting valuable data about the universe outside of our solar system, something we know little about.
Losing the plasma science device is a reminder that its usefulness is diminishing, but with four functional devices left, the mission is still going strong.
Source: NASA
