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NASA has chosen to deactivate one of the scientific instruments on Voyager 2, a spacecraft launched into space 47 years ago on August 20, 1977. This decision was made to ensure the spacecraft's continued operation as its power sources diminish. Voyager 2 is currently journeying through space, about 13 billion miles (20.9 billion kilometers) away from Earth.

According to the space agency's official statement, on September 26, engineers directed Voyager 2 to power down its plasma science instrument. The command was transmitted through NASA's Deep Space Network and took 19 hours to reach the spacecraft, with the return signal taking another 19 hours to travel back to Earth.

To verify that there are no unforeseen consequences, the mission engineers are closely monitoring the situation. Following their observations, the team has confirmed the smooth execution of the shutdown command for Voyager 2, reassuring that the probe is functioning normally.

The Plasma Science experiment, known as PLS on Voyager 2, was utilized to study variations in solar winds. This experiment comprised four plasma detectors designed to gather data on the movement of ions and electrons emitted by the sun, known as solar wind, as it traverses the solar system. The solar wind originates from the sun's outer layer, the corona, and interacts with celestial bodies and the interstellar medium during its journey through space. Despite Voyager 2's diminishing power reserves, NASA predicts that the spacecraft will continue to operate with at least one active scientific instrument until the 2030s.

Over 47 years, NASA has periodically issued commands to deactivate numerous scientific instruments on Voyager 2 as the spacecraft utilizes its plutonium supply. Presently, six of the spacecraft's initial ten instruments have been turned off, with plasma science being the latest. Voyager 2 is powered by three radioisotope thermoelectric generators that function by converting d…Breaking down plutonium to generate electricity, Voyager 2 ventured beyond the solar system on November 5, 2018, becoming the first human-created spacecraft in interstellar space, outside the heliosphere. Engineers delayed shutting down any experiments for as long as possible due to the uniqueness of the data collected by the twin probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, the only active probes. NASA's decision to power down Voyager 2's plasma science tool is aimed at prolonging the spacecraft's operational life as its energy source diminishes. Nonetheless, the spacecraft is still functioning and will continue to gather valuable information from deep space, likely until the 2030s. This ongoing mission offers a special perspective into interstellar space, even after 47 years since its launch.