NASA shuts down more Voyager science instruments to prolong mission

In brief: Mission control specialists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are taking additional energy-conserving measures to ensure their Voyager probes can continue operating in interstellar space for as long as possible. Engineers shut down the cosmic ray subsystem instrument on Voyager 1 on February 25. This tool, which consists of three telescopes that study cosmic rays, helped NASA determine when Voyager 1 left the heliosphere. The space agency plans to turn off the low-energy charged particle experiment on Voyager 2 on March 24. The LECP instrument features two subsystems and is used to measure electrons, ions, and cosmic rays in space. Once it goes dark, just three scientific instruments will remain operational on each craft. NASA launched its twin Voyager probes in 1977 to study planets in the outskirts of our solar system including gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 1 completed its planetary objectives and entered into an extended mission phase in 1980, eventually beco ... Read full article.