NASA Turns Off Voyager 1 Instrument to Save Power

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NASA shut down a Voyager 1 instrument to conserve power.

Engineers turned off Voyager 1's Low-Energy Charged Particles experiment.

The move helps as the probe loses 4 watts of power each year.

Shutting down an instrument is not ideal, but it's the best option, said Kareem Badaruddin.

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This illustration shows Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth.

The shutdown shows the delicate balancing act facing the Voyager team.

Voyager 1 and 2 are powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators.

The team remains focused on keeping both Voyagers going for as long as possible.

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Voyager 1 experienced an unexpected drop in power during a routine roll maneuver.

Engineers feared a decline could trigger the spacecraft’s undervoltage fault protection system.

The Voyager probes collect data on pressure fronts and particle density in space.

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is traveling through interstellar space.

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Shutting down the LECP will give Voyager 1 about a year of breathing room.

The 'Big Bang' plan is to swap out powered devices with lower-power alternatives.

The decision to turn off LECP was not made suddenly, but after years of planning.

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Commands take roughly 23 hours to arrive at Voyager 1, and the shutdown sequence takes more than three hours.

Eric Mack is a writer for Fox News Digital covering breaking news.

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