Overview
- Engineers executed the "Big Bang" reconfiguration on Voyager 2 in July 2026, which freed roughly ten watts a year and should keep the probe's three remaining instruments operating into 2027.
- The procedure shut off several long‑running higher‑power devices and substituted lower‑power alternatives while keeping critical electronics and heaters warm enough to avoid permanent damage.
- Voyager probes run on radioisotope thermoelectric generators that lose about four watts of power per year, forcing teams to sequence instrument shutdowns and conservation moves as the craft age.
- Voyager 1 passed a power test in late July and is due to undergo thermal checks by the end of August before NASA attempts the same reconfiguration on the more distant and power‑strained probe.
- The decision gives scientists more in‑situ interstellar data for at least another year and places mission engineers in the role of stewarding irreplaceable hardware across long communication delays and rising risk.