Letting go is hard, especially when it concerns an irreplaceable space probe like the two Voyagers. Fortunately JPL engineers have managed to pull off a ‘big bang’ switch on Voyager 2, involving two heaters and another device that was kept on to keep providing sufficient heat to the spacecraft to allow it to keep functioning. After all, while the vacuum of space isn’t cold, out in deep space you’re radiating away all your precious heat.

Unfortunately the official press release in exceedingly limited in details, but The Register was kind enough to already nag a NASA spokesperson about it, which gives us some technical details. The short version is that these heaters don’t just keep the electronics within a happy operating range, they also keep the fuel lines warm and capable of providing fuel for attitude adjustments.

With this switch apparently enough of the rapidly diminishing power from the RTG has been freed up that the Voyager 2 has just gained a whole extra year on its extended mission. The JPL team hopes to perform the same switch on the Voyager 1 spacecraft soon, giving it a similar boost to its expected lifespan, before both of them go quiet in the depths of space.

Thanks to [Mark Stevens] for the tip.

放手是困难的，尤其是当涉及到像两艘旅行者号这样不可替代的太空探测器时。幸运的是，JPL工程师们设法在旅行者2号上完成了一次‘大爆炸’式切换，涉及两个加热器和另一个保持开启的设备，以便持续为航天器提供足够的热量，使其继续运转。毕竟，虽然太空真空并不寒冷，但在深空中，你正在辐射掉所有宝贵的热量。

不幸的是，官方新闻稿提供的细节极为有限，但The Register很友好地已经就此询问了NASA发言人，这为我们提供了一些技术细节。简而言之，这些加热器不仅让电子设备保持在良好的工作温度范围内，还保持燃料管线温暖，使其能够为姿态调整提供燃料。

通过这次切换，RTG（放射性同位素热电发生器）快速衰减的电力中释放出了足够的能量，使得旅行者2号在其延长任务中整整多出了一年时间。JPL团队希望在不久后对旅行者1号航天器进行同样的切换，为其预期寿命带来类似的提升，之后两艘探测器都将在太空深处归于沉寂。

感谢[Mark Stevens]提供线索。