The Farthest Probes From Earth Are Starting Their Final Shut Down Process
Goodbye Voyager, thanks for the memories
The Voyager space probes have been hurtling through space for an unprecedented 44 years, 9 months, 20 days, 7 hours and 29 minutes. And counting. The Voyager mission has been a landmark success for NASA. The probes snapped some of the most stunning images of our solar system to date, they were once the fastest objects ever created by mankind and they are currently the farthest objects from Earth ever made by human hands. As of now, the probes are 14.5 billion miles from Earth. And counting.
But their mission might finally be coming to an end for good. NASA announced they are cutting power to the probes to conserve energy. Communication with the distant machines has become burdensome and some of the components are starting to wear down after nearly 45 years in the void. Soon, these probes will go dark for good and they will continue their eternal sojourn alone and without contact from Earth.
NASA clarified that powering down the probes is part of their long term maintenance plan but that the aging constructs might be running out of options. NASA says they are going to reconvene in August to determine the fate of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.
