NASA has shut down a science instrument on the iconic Voyager 1 probe, the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space.

NASA shut down Voyager 1's charged particles instrument to save dwindling power, as the interstellar spacecraft loses about 4 watts of energy per year.

NASA engineers have shut down another instrument on Voyager 1 to preserve the power of the most distant spacecraft ever sent into space.

The venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft is one step closer to the end of its scientific road. NASA turned off one of its three remaining operational instruments last Friday to save power after the spacecraft’s energy levels unexpectedly dropped during a maneuver in late February,

Voyager 1, the most distant man-made object from Earth, shut down one of its three remaining instruments as NASA worked to extend its near-half-century mission. The Voyager probes launched in 1977 toward the solar system’s outer planets,

NASA engineers are working to keep the Voyager mission alive as it cruises through interstellar space, opting to shut down components of the spacecraft to save power. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) sent commands to Voyager 1 to shut off one of its science instruments after the spacecraft’s power levels fell unexpectedly.

Engineers shut Voyager 1's LECP to save power and avoid frozen fuel lines; just two instruments remain. Show comments

After nearly 50 years in space, the two Voyager spacecraft are very low on nuclear power. Voyager 1 just shut off another instrument to save the mission.