¶Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have successfully freed up power on Voyager 2, extending how long the spacecraft can continue to do science.  

¶Nicknamed the “Big Bang,” the effort involved simultaneously turning off certain powered devices and substituting them with lower-power alternatives while ensuring the spacecraft remains warm enough to operate.  

¶After almost a half-century since launch, the spacecraft power margins have grown razor thin, requiring the team to conserve energy by shutting off non-essential devices and systems.  

¶The savings should provide power to keep its three instruments operating for at least an extra year. 

¶Meanwhile, NASA’s out there continuing to do amazing things. The Voyager mission is the little space mission that could, still traveling through interstellar space more than forty-five years after the twin Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft were launched.