NASA's Voyager Probes: Still Truckin' After Nearly 50 Years
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Launched in 1977, NASA's Voyager spacecraft continue to make history as they travel farther from Earth than any other human-made objects. As the mission reaches nearly five decades of operation, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have decided to take measures to conserve energy and extend the lifespan of the spacecraft. To keep these pioneering probes operational, the team will turn off one science instrument on each of the two Voyager probes. Despite the challenges posed by distance and time, the Voyagers remain functional, providing valuable data about the far reaches of space.
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, which were initially designed for a five-year mission, have now exceeded expectations, becoming the longest-lived space missions in history. Voyager 1 is currently humanity’s most distant object, traveling more than 14 billion miles from Earth. These probes continue to send back vital information, helping scientists better understand the outer regions of our solar system and beyond. As NASA engineers make adjustments to conserve energy, the Voyager mission remains a testament to the resilience of human engineering and the quest for discovery.
For more information, visit NASA's latest update (https://go.nasa.gov/4i01Uwm).
Launched in 1977 and still truckin' ✌️
— NASA (@NASA) March 5, 2025
To conserve energy and prolong @NASAVoyager, @NASAJPL engineers will turn off one science instrument on each of the two probes. They are humanity's most distant objects, and our longest-lived mission. More: https://t.co/m0T3YAA6qj pic.twitter.com/KCB17gmral
