NASA has turned off the Voyager 2 science instrument as the probe is falling short of power supply while exploring the vast expanse of space.
The Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched on August 30, 1977, on a journey to the unexplored parts of the solar system. It left the solar system after 41 years on November 5, 2018.
It is currently travelling at a distance of 12.8 billion miles (20.5 billion kilometres) from Earth. Mission specialists tried avoiding the shutdown of the plasma science instrument as Voyager 2 is the only probe to reach interstellar space beyond the heliosphere, and the data received from this probe is unique.
However, NASA engineers had to turn off the plasma science instrument on September 26 to save power supply for other scientific instruments on Voyager 2. With the turn-off of this instrument, only 3 of the 10 scientific instruments on the voyager 2 remain active.
After the turndown of the instrument, NASA took over X, formerly known as Twitter, and said, “In 2018, the PLS was critical in determining that I had left the heliosphere—but power management is a major challenge when you’ve been exploring for 47 years. I will, however, still be monitoring plasma in the interstellar medium with my plasma wave subsystem (PWS). -V2”
In 2018, the PLS was critical in determining that I had left the heliosphere – but power management is a major challenge when you’ve been exploring for 47 years.
I will, however, still be monitoring plasma in the interstellar medium with my plasma wave subsystem (PWS). -V2 https://t.co/HIuiwZFnKn
— NASA Voyager (@NASAVoyager) October 1, 2024
The command to turn off the instrument was sent on September 26. It took 19 hours for it to reach the probe, and then another 19 hours for the return signal to reach the earth. This loss of power supply indicates that the Voyager 2 spacecraft is entering the farthest point of the solar system, where only a little sunlight falls on the solar panels that provide the energy to the probe.
What is the Plasma Science Instrument?
The plasma science instrument measures the amount of plasma in space and its direction. However, the instrument has collected only a small amount of data due to its relative position to the plasma flow. It is made of 4 cups, 3 of which are facing towards the sun to measure the plasma in the solar wind, and 1 is facing opposite to collect the plasma from planetary magnetic fields and interstellar space.
NASA reported that the amount of plasma collected by the 3 cups facing towards the sun dropped dramatically when Voyager 2 exited the heliosphere, and the fourth cup sends the data every 3 months when the probe does a 360-degree axis turn toward the sun. Thus, the scientists decided to turn the instrument off.
Voyager 2 plays an important role in our space exploration journey as it will continue to reach further deep into space. NASA said, “The probe has enough power to continue exploring this region with at least one operational science instrument into the 2030s.”
