NASA engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have successfully extended Voyager 2’s operational lifespan by at least a year using a power-saving maneuver nicknamed the “Big Bang.” The August 2026 adjustment swaps active heating devices for lower-power alternatives, preserving dwindling plutonium power supplies as both probes approach a half-century in deep space.
The “Big Bang” Maneuver at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory pulled off a delicate high-stakes power reconfiguration on Voyager 2 to keep the aging probe transmitting science data back to Earth. Nearly half a century after launch, the spacecraft operates on power supplied by radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which convert heat from decaying plutonium into electricity. Because that plutonium supply continually depletes, each probe loses about 4 watts of power each year.
Power margins have dwindled to razor-thin tolerances, requiring the team to conserve energy by shutting off non-essential devices and systems. Since 2024, the dwindling power supply has forced the mission to turn off two science instruments on each of the Voyager spacecraft (each spacecraft has 10 instruments; others had been turned off previously because they were only used for the mission’s planetary encounters). Without the Big Bang activity, the mission would have had to turn off another instrument on Voyager 2 before the end of 2026.
To avert that shutdown, engineers executed a complex procedure nicknamed the “Big Bang” by the JPL team, involving simultaneously turning off certain powered devices and substituting them with lower-power alternatives while ensuring the spacecraft remains warm enough to operate.
Technical Details Behind the Power Savings on Voyager 2
Fortunately JPL engineers have managed to pull off a ‘big bang’ switch on Voyager 2, involving two heaters and another device that was kept on to keep providing sufficient heat to the spacecraft to allow it to keep functioning.
These onboard heaters don’t just keep the electronics within a happy operating range, they also keep the fuel lines warm and capable of providing fuel for attitude adjustments. After all, while the vacuum of space isn’t cold, out in deep space you’re radiating away all your precious heat.
By swapping the component arrangement, apparently enough of the rapidly diminishing power from the RTG has been freed up that the Voyager 2 has just gained a whole extra year on its extended mission to keep its three instruments operating.
Future Plans for Voyager 1 and the Final Months of the Mission
The successful intervention on Voyager 2 has provided engineers with a blueprint for managing its twin. The mission team plans to perform the same swap on Voyager 1, which is farther from Earth than Voyager 2, and to complete the effort in the coming months.
The JPL team hopes to perform the same switch on the Voyager 1 spacecraft soon, giving it a similar boost to its expected lifespan, before both of them go quiet in the depths of space. For more information about NASA’s Voyager mission, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager Media Contact Calla Cofield Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-808-2469 [email protected] NASA Science Editorial Team August 4, 2026 6:45PM.
- QuakeCon 2026 Reveals Free 19-Map Quake Expansion
- Brain Neurons Protect Fertility From Heat Stress Via Molecular Signals
- NASA Plans SkyFall Helicopter Mission to Mars for 2028 (world-today-journal.com)
- American flown to a New Zealand hospital in a rare midwinter Antarctic rescue mission (newsylist.com)
Discover more from Archyworldys
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.