NASA is keeping Voyager 1 alive by switching off instruments and heaters one by one—but it cannot let the spacecraft become so cold that its fuel lines freeze. If those lines fail, Voyager could lose the thrusters that keep its antenna aimed at Earth, per

Launched in 1977, the spacecraft originally carried a suite of ten science instruments. As of 2026, only two of those instruments remain switched on. According to the reporting, NASA is keeping the spacecraft alive by selectively switching off instruments and heaters one by one. However, the agency faces a critical threshold: it cannot allow the spacecraft to become so cold that its fuel lines freeze.

If those lines fail, Voyager 1 could lose the thrusters necessary to keep its antenna aimed directly at Earth. This power source loses roughly four watts every year, creating a slow drain that dictates what information humanity can still learn from the mission. Sometime in the 2030s, NASA will eventually switch off its final instrument, which will bring an end to the only signal ever sent to humanity from interstellar space. Voyager 1 has been flying continuously across space since 1977.

Despite this decades-long voyage, the coverage notes that the spacecraft still has not traveled a full light-day, though it is rapidly approaching that historic distance marker. The combination of decreasing power output, extreme distance, and the physical constraints of managing onboard temperatures forms the core background of the current mission phase. Coverage does not yet specify the exact date when the very last instrument will be deactivated beyond the general timeframe of the 2030s, nor does it detail the precise sequence of future heater shutdowns. Observers and space enthusiasts will be watching for updates from NASA regarding the upcoming November 18, 2026 milestone, when Voyager 1 reaches the one light-day distance mark, and monitoring how mission controllers manage the delicate balance between power conservation and thruster thermal safety.