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The Multihundred-watt radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MHW RTG) is a type of US radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) developed for the Voyager spacecraft, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. [1] The Voyager generators continue to function more than 45 years into the mission. [2] Radioisotope thermoelectric generators for the Voyager program.
A common RTG application is spacecraft power supply. Several generations of RTG design have been used for probes that traveled far from the Sun, rendering solar panels impractical. As such, they have been used for Pioneer 10 and 11; Voyager 1 and 2; Galileo; Ulysses; Cassini; New Horizons; and are planned for the Dragonfly mission to Titan.
Radioisotope power has been used on eight Earth orbiting missions, eight missions to the outer planets, and the Apollo missions after Apollo 11 to the Moon. The outer Solar System missions are the Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, Ulysses, Galileo, Cassini and New Horizons missions. The RTGs on Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have been operating ...
Of the 10 science instruments Voyager 1 started its journey with, four are currently gathering data on its cosmic environment, and each year, the spacecraft loses more of its precious power supply.
Voyager 1 ' s extended mission is expected to continue to return scientific data until at least 2025, with a maximum lifespan of until 2030. [13] Its radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) may supply enough electric power to return engineering data until 2036.
NASA turned off a suite of instruments on Voyager 2 and its twin Voyager 1 after they explored the gas giant planets in the 1980s. Both are currently in interstellar space, or the space between stars. The plasma instrument on Voyager 1 stopped working long ago and was finally shut down in 2007.
In 2012, Voyager 1 ventured beyond the solar system, becoming the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, or the space between stars. Voyager 2 followed suit in 2018. Voyager 2 ...
Despite the aging probe’s emptying power stores, NASA expects that Voyager 2 will keep operating with at least one science instrument into the 2030s. ... year-old spacecraft drains its supply of ...