NASA Shuts Down Instrument to Keep Voyager 1 Operating

NASA sent a command to shut down Voyager 1's Low-energy Charged Particles experiment (LECP). With power from the nuclear-powered RTG declining by about 4 watts each year, this measure aims to keep the spacecraft operating for as long as possible.

The LECP has operated continuously for nearly 49 years since its 1977 launch, collecting data on the interstellar medium and cosmic rays beyond the heliosphere. However, an unexpected power drop occurred during a routine roll maneuver on February 27, and the team determined it was safer to shut down the science instrument themselves before the automatic protection system intervened.

Voyager 1 still carries instruments for receiving plasma waves and measuring magnetic fields. Both instruments continue to transmit data from a region that no human-made spacecraft has ever explored.

The order in which instruments are shut down was not decided on the spot, but follows a procedure agreed upon years ago by the science and engineering teams. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 each carried the same 10 instruments, and so far 7 have been turned off on each spacecraft. Voyager 2's LECP was already shut down in March 2025.

Shutting down the LECP is expected to give Voyager 1 about 1 more year of margin. As a next step, the team is preparing a larger power-saving plan called the Big Bang, which will first be tested on Voyager 2 in May-June 2026, and if no issues arise, applied to Voyager 1 as well starting after July. If this measure succeeds, there remains a possibility of turning Voyager 1's LECP back on.