伝説のボイジャー1号、延命のため一部の観測機器をシャットダウンへ

NASAは、運用から47年が経過したボイジャー1号の電力を維持するため、搭載されている観測機器のうちの一つを停止させることを決定しました。老朽化した探査機を少しでも長く稼働させ、星間空間のデータを受け取り続けるための苦渋の決断といえます。

Engineers are confident that shutting down the LECP will give Voyager 1 about a year of breathing room. They are using the time to finalize a more ambitious energy-saving fix for both Voyagers they call “the Big Bang,” which is designed to further extend Voyager operations. The idea is to swap out a group of powered devices all at once — hence the nickname — turning some things off and replacing them with lower-power alternatives to keep the spacecraft warm enough to continue gathering science data.

The team will implement the Big Bang on Voyager 2 first, which has a little more power to spare and is closer to Earth, making it the safer test subject. Tests are planned for May and June 2026. If they go well, the team will attempt the same fix on Voyager 1 no sooner than July. If it works, there is even a chance that Voyager 1’s LECP could be switched back on.

Voyager 1 has only a year left otherwise? Also, what low-powered alternatives are there? Is there that much redundancy? I'd love to know what their idea and plan are?

Also,

For Voyager 1, the LECP was next on that list. The team shut off the LECP on Voyager 2 in March 2025.

Why? Voyager 2 has more power to spare, per the prior quote.

the sequence of commands to shut down the instrument will take 23 or so hours to reach the spacecraft

Closing in on one light day!

Imagine deploying your bug fix and having to wait two days to find out if it worked!

Amazing that this spacecraft has been operating for nearly half a century.