Nasa’s interstellar Voyager 1 space probe is losing power

Nasa is rushing to find a solution to prevent its first interstellar spacecraft from running out of power.

Voyager 1, which launched in 1977, suffered a drop in power levels that forced mission operators to shut down one of its instruments as a temporary fix.

The US space agency said it is now working on a “far-out plan” to extend the craft’s lifespan and restore it to full operation.

Voyager 1 is the most distant human-made object in existence, having become the first ever probe to leave the Solar System in 2012.

It is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which harvest electricity from decaying plutonium. This energy system means it loses 4 watts of power every year.

An unexpected low power issue was first detected during a planned roll maneuvre on 27 February, with mission engineers warning that any additional drop in power would trigger a protection system that would shut down components on the probe.

Nasa said it shut down an instrument aboard the Voyager 1 craft, which is currently more than 25 billion kilometres (15 billion miles) from Earth, in order to prevent further issues while it works on a more permanent solution.

“While shutting down a science instrument is not anybody’s preference, it is the best option available,” said Voyager mission manager Kareem Badaruddin.

“Voyager 1 still has two remaining operating science instruments – one that listens to plasma waves and one that measures magnetic fields. They are still working great, sending back data from a region of space no other human-made craft has ever explored.”

The instrument, called the Low-energy Charged Particles experiment, (LECP), has been operating almost continuously for 49 years, measuring low-energy charged particles like cosmic rays from the Milky Way.

“The nuclear-powered spacecraft is running low on power, and turning off the LECP is considered the best way to keep humanity’s first interstellar explorer going,” Nasa said in an update.

“The instrument has provided critical data about the structure of the interstellar medium, detecting pressure fronts and regions of varying particle density in the space beyond our heliosphere. The twin Voyagers are the only spacecraft that are far enough from Earth to provide this information.”