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NASA Shuts Off Instrument on Voyager 1 to Keep Spacecraft Operating
(science.nasa.gov)
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this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2026
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RTGs are subject to the issue of half-life - this is a consequence of that type of power source. Though, let’s be honest: we do not have any other sort of power generation technology that would be viable for literal decades on an interstellar space probe. And we definitely didn’t have a better alternative when they were launched.
For roughly three milliseconds I thought to myself they shoulda used solar panels instead.
"Oh, wait...."
Well they could power a lamp that shines on the solar panels.
This photo was taken after Voyager was launched, NASA didn’t have the technology yet
Use the heat from the lamp to boil some water and you're in business.
Just use two of them!