3 ms·

For those who didn't know how Voyager can still be working, it is running on a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (a nuclear device). Solar panels would be u

For those who didn't know how Voyager can still be working, it is running on a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (a nuclear device). Solar panels would be useless at its current distance from the sun.

thematt 14y ago
Is there any data on how long that should run for?
- schiffern 14y ago
  They can power down specific instruments to stay within the decaying threshold. Wikipedia has this timeline of instrument power-downs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1#Interstellar_mission http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1#Interstellar_mission
- tarre 14y ago
  Half-life of plutonium-238 is 87.7 years so there should be approximately half of the original power left after that time. Nowadays the power of the device is about 75 % of original.
  - InclinedPlane 14y ago
    You'd think so, in practice it doesn't work that way. A significant factor is degredation of the thermocouples due to heat and radiation. This causes the power output to drop faster than would be expected due to pu-238 decay alone. Right now current power levels are around 63% compared to launch, which would be the expected power level in the 2030s if radioactive decay were the only factor.