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Energy efficiency
The emptiness of space has just become a little colder. NASA has just turned off the Voyager 2 heater, one of two probes currently exploring the confines of the solar system, in an effort to preserve its declining power supply.
In the four decades since the launch of the Voyager spacecraft, their nuclear batteries have become less and less efficient, according to Space.com, Voyager 2 generating about 60% of the energy it could when it was launched. The decision to turn off the radiator to support other instruments shows how the space agency needs to think strategically about how to operate the probes as long as possible.
Life goes on & # 39;
Of the 20 scientific instruments of the two space probes, nine are still functional, Space.com reports. Without the heater, other instruments will be subjected to temperatures as low as minus 74 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 59 degrees Celsius), per minute. Space.com, which is lower than the temperatures at which NASA tested them.
"The long life of the Space Shuttle means we are dealing with scenarios that we would never have imagined," said Suzanne Dodd, Project Manager Voyager at NASA, in a press release. "We will continue to explore all the options we have to enable travelers to make the best science possible."
READ MORE: At the solar system level, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft faces reduced fuel consumption[[[[Space.com]
More on Voyager: Voyager 2 has just entered the interstellar space
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