NASA engineers have successfully implemented a new “Big Bang” power-saving upgrade on Voyager 2, allowing the nearly 49-year-old spacecraft to continue collecting scientific data from interstellar space.

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• NASA engineers reconfigured Voyager 2’s onboard power systems through a new upgrade known as the “Big Bang” fix.
• The upgrade is expected to extend Voyager 2’s science mission by at least another year.
• Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977, and has been operating for nearly five decades.
• The spacecraft is currently about 21.35 billion kilometres (13 billion miles) from Earth.
• Voyager 2 is among the farthest human-made objects in space.
• Its twin spacecraft, Voyager 1, is even farther away at around 25.4 billion kilometres from Earth.
• Both Voyager spacecraft were originally designed for missions lasting only about five years.
• Despite this, the two spacecraft have continued operating for nearly half a century.
• The power-saving upgrade will help Voyager 2 continue returning scientific data from interstellar space.
• The mission demonstrates NASA engineers’ efforts to preserve the capabilities of a spacecraft operating far beyond its original mission lifespan.