- NASA is urgently seeking a solution to prevent its Voyager 1 spacecraft, the most distant human-made object, from running out of power.
- Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 became the first probe to leave the Solar System in 2012 and is currently over 25 billion kilometres from Earth.
- A drop in power levels, first detected on 27 February, forced mission operators to shut down one instrument as a temporary fix.
- The Low-energy Charged Particles experiment (LECP) was deactivated to conserve power, though two other science instruments remain operational and are still sending back data.
- The US space agency is working on a "far-out plan" to extend the craft's lifespan and restore it to full operation, despite its continuous loss of 4 watts of power annually.
IN FULL
