#[1]Boing Boing » Feed [2]Boing Boing » Comments Feed [3]alternate [4]alternate [5]alternate [tr?id=1174428159312267&ev=PageView&noscript=1] [6]BoingBoing (BUTTON) MENU [7]SEARCH [8]STORE (BUTTON) MENU * [9]SEARCH * [10]STORE * [11]Blog : The posts * [12]Forums : Read the [13]rules * [14]Store : Wonderful Products [15](Contact Support) * [16]About Us : Writers and staff * [17]Contact Us : Get satisfaction * [18]Advertise : Thank you for reading * [19]Privacy Policy : The data you generate * [20]TOS : What you agree to NASA to power down the mighty Voyager space probes [21]David Pescovitz 9:33 am Wed Jun 22, 2022 image: NASA/JPL In 1977, NASA launched two spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2, on a grand tour of the solar system and into the mysteries of interstellar space. Attached to each of these probes is a golden phonograph record containing a message for any extraterrestrial intelligence that might encounter it, perhaps billions of years from now. (I co-produced the [22]first terrestrial vinyl release of the Voyager Golden Record.) These two astonishing spacecraft far exceeded their life expectancy and have continued to transmit valuable scientific data back home. Now though, it's time for NASA to thoughtfully begin powering down each system in a very thoughtful and process order to hopefully eke out a few more years of communication with Earth. If all goes as planned, we'll still hear from them until about 2030. From [23]Scientific American: "We're at 44 and a half years," says Ralph McNutt, a physicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), who has devoted much of his career to the Voyagers. "So we've done 10 times the warranty on the darn things."[…] Voyager 2 now has five remaining functioning instruments, and Voyager 1 has four. All are powered by a device that converts heat from the radioactive decay of plutonium into electricity. But with the power output decreasing by about four watts a year, NASA has been forced into triage mode. Two years ago the mission's engineers turned off the heater for the cosmic-ray detector, which had been crucial in determining the heliopause transit [into interstellar space]. Everyone expected the instrument to die. "The temperature dropped like 60 or 70 degrees C, well outside any tested operating limits," [JPOL planetary scientist and original Voyage team member Linda] Spilker says, "and the instrument kept working. It was incredible." The last two Voyager instruments to turn off will probably be a magnetometer and the plasma science instrument. They are contained in the body of the spacecraft, where they are warmed by heat emitted from computers. The other instruments are suspended on a 43-foot-long fiberglass boom. "And so when you turn the heaters off," [Voyager project manage Suzanne] Dodd says, "those instruments get very, very cold." [24]Voyager 1 probe is sending back mysterious signals from interstellar space IFRAME: [25]https://boingboing.net/2022/05/19/voyager-1-probe-is-sending-back-m ysterious-signals-from-interstellar-space.html/embed#?secret=j9aYJkJsUg #?secret=tr8SttMJr7 * [26]TWEET * [27]COMMENTS * [28]NASA * [29]Space * [30]voyager * [31]Strange balancing rock spotted on Mars Don't Martians know that stone stacking is bad for the environment? NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars captured this image of what appears to be a small stone balanced atop a large rock. How odd. Or maybe not. Gizmodo reached out to NASA and heard back from planetary geologist James Rice of Arizona State University's School… [32]READ THE REST * [33]Watch NASA's new documentary celebrating Black astronauts Sunday is Juneteenth, commemorating the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Black people in the United States were informed of their freedom, and to celebrate, NASA is premiering a new documentary about Black astronauts. Titled "The Color of Space," it features a roundtable conversation between seven Black current and retired astronauts: Stephanie Wilson, Victor… [34]READ THE REST * [35]Mars rover spotted a piece of litter (its own) NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover sent home a photo of a piece of litter on the Red Planet's surface. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed the trash is from the rover's landing. From a NASA post on Facebook: It's a piece of a thermal blanket that they think may have come from my descent stage, the… [36]READ THE REST * [37]Light up your life organically with the PyroDinos GrowPro System Did you know that 70% of the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean, specifically tiny plant-like plankton called Pyrocystis? Well, what if you can grow those tiny Pyrocystis in your own home and enjoy the benefits? Now, that's a possibility, thanks to PyroFarms. For several years, the citizen scientists at PyroFarms have been growing dinoflagellates Pyrocystis. Their mission is to "bring nature's natural wonder, beauty,… [38]READ THE REST * [39]Cheaper gas prices (and more!) await with this mind-blowing membership Let's face it: Life is pretty expensive. And while we enjoy splurging on luxury goods, everyday necessities really shouldn't be breaking the bank. That's why memberships to retail warehouses are such a lifesaver. Suddenly, groceries, home goods, furniture, and more are all accessible and inexpensive. One of the best examples of this is Sam's Club — and right now,… [40]READ THE REST * [41]Give your cat the gift of fully rechargeable entertainment with Cheerble Having a pet at home is one of the great joys in life. Unfortunately, even though many of us work from home, we can't stay with furry friends all the time. Sometimes we have to venture outside and leave our pets at home. If you're lucky enough to have a cat waiting for you to return, the last thing… [42]READ THE REST Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our [43]Terms of Service. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Boing Boing uses cookies and analytics trackers, and is supported by advertising, merchandise sales and affiliate links. Read about what we do with the data we gather in our [44]Privacy Policy. Who will be eaten first? Our forum rules are detailed in the [45]Community Guidelines. Boing Boing is published under [46]a Creative Commons license except where otherwise noted. * + [47]Mark Frauenfelder + [48]David Pescovitz + [49]Rob Beschizza + [50]Carla Sinclair Editors * + [51]Jason Weisberger Publisher * + [52]Ken Snider Sysadmin * + [53]About Us + [54]Contact Us + [55]Advertise + [56]Forums + [57]Shop + [58]Report a Bad Ad + [59]Shop Support [tr?id=1174428159312267&ev=PageView&noscript=1] [p?c1=2&c2=7518287&cv=2.0&cj=1] Quantcast References Visible links 1. https://boingboing.net/feed 2. https://boingboing.net/comments/feed 3. https://boingboing.net/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/899215 4. https://boingboing.net/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/nasa-to-power-down-the-mighty-voyager-space-probes.html 5. https://boingboing.net/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/nasa-to-power-down-the-mighty-voyager-space-probes.html&format=xml 6. https://boingboing.net/ 7. https://boingboing.net/search 8. https://store.boingboing.net/ 9. https://boingboing.net/search 10. https://store.boingboing.net/ 11. https://boingboing.net/blog 12. https://bbs.boingboing.net/ 13. https://bbs.boingboing.net/faq 14. https://store.boingboing.net/ 15. https://bit.ly/boingboingdealssupport 16. https://boingboing.net/about 17. https://boingboing.net/contact 18. https://ads.boingboing.net/ 19. https://boingboing.net/privacy 20. https://boingboing.net/tos 21. https://boingboing.net/author/david_pescovitz 22. https://ozmarecords.com/pages/voyager 23. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/record-breaking-voyager-spacecraft-begin-to-power-down/ 24. https://boingboing.net/2022/05/19/voyager-1-probe-is-sending-back-mysterious-signals-from-interstellar-space.html 25. https://boingboing.net/2022/05/19/voyager-1-probe-is-sending-back-mysterious-signals-from-interstellar-space.html/embed#?secret=j9aYJkJsUg#?secret=tr8SttMJr7 26. https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=NASA+to+power+down+the+mighty+Voyager+space+probes https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/nasa-to-power-down-the-mighty-voyager-space-probes.html&original_referer=https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/nasa-to-power-down-the-mighty-voyager-space-probes.html 27. https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/nasa-to-power-down-the-mighty-voyager-space-probes/223970 28. https://boingboing.net/tag/nasa-2 29. https://boingboing.net/tag/space 30. https://boingboing.net/tag/voyager 31. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/strange-balancing-rock-spotted-on-mars.html 32. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/strange-balancing-rock-spotted-on-mars.html 33. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/17/watch-nasas-new-documentary-celebrating-black-astronauts.html 34. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/17/watch-nasas-new-documentary-celebrating-black-astronauts.html 35. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/17/mars-rover-spotted-a-piece-of-litter-its-own.html 36. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/17/mars-rover-spotted-a-piece-of-litter-its-own.html 37. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/light-up-your-life-organically-with-the-pyrodinos-growpro-system.html 38. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/light-up-your-life-organically-with-the-pyrodinos-growpro-system.html 39. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/21/cheaper-gas-prices-and-more-await-with-this-mind-blowing-membership.html 40. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/21/cheaper-gas-prices-and-more-await-with-this-mind-blowing-membership.html 41. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/21/give-your-cat-the-gift-of-fully-rechargeable-entertainment-with-cheerble.html 42. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/21/give-your-cat-the-gift-of-fully-rechargeable-entertainment-with-cheerble.html 43. https://boingboing.net/tos 44. https://boingboing.net/privacy 45. https://bbs.boingboing.net/faq 46. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/deed.en_US 47. https://twitter.com/frauenfelder 48. https://twitter.com/pesco 49. https://twitter.com/beschizza 50. https://twitter.com/carla_sinclair 51. https://twitter.com/jlw 52. https://twitter.com/orenwolf 53. https://boingboing.net/about 54. https://boingboing.net/contact 55. https://boingboing.net/advertise 56. https://bbs.boingboing.net/ 57. https://store.boingboing.net/ 58. https://freestar.com/bad-ads/ 59. https://bit.ly/boingboingdealssupport Hidden links: 61. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/strange-balancing-rock-spotted-on-mars.html 62. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/17/watch-nasas-new-documentary-celebrating-black-astronauts.html 63. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/17/mars-rover-spotted-a-piece-of-litter-its-own.html 64. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/22/light-up-your-life-organically-with-the-pyrodinos-growpro-system.html 65. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/21/cheaper-gas-prices-and-more-await-with-this-mind-blowing-membership.html 66. https://boingboing.net/2022/06/21/give-your-cat-the-gift-of-fully-rechargeable-entertainment-with-cheerble.html