Engineers employed a'Big Bang' maneuver to keep the power flowing on the 49-year-old spacecraft. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, depicted in this artist's concept, has enough power to continue operating three science instruments in interstellar space longer than anticipated thanks to some clever engineering by the mission team. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy .

Look Up Say More Versus Creator Hub Switch Off Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Trending Now Safety Net In My Bag VidCon with Mashable Back to School Furtastic All Series The spacecraft's days are numbered. Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA's moon and Mars missions, chatting up astronauts and history-making discoverers, and jetting above the clouds . Through 17 years of reporting, she's covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for in Norfolk, Virginia, and in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association's top honor, Best in Show, and national recognition for narrative storytelling.

If there is extraterrestrial life in our solar system, experts have long thought it could be hiding beneath Mars' surface, in Venus' clouds or in the icy oceans of Jupiter and Saturn's moons. NASA scientists say Uranus' moons Titania and Oberon may also have oceans warm enough to support life, suggesting that we should look there too in our hunt for aliens close to home. They made their discovery after re-analysing data from Voyager 2's close flybys of Uranus in the 1980s, as well as using computer modelling to look for signs of water on five of the planet's largest icy moons. It is the first piece of research to establish how the interior makeup and structure has evolved on Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, and Miranda. Distant ice worlds: NASA scientists say Uranus' moons Titania and Oberon may have oceans warm enough to support life.

And on Nov. 2, 2018, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft crossed into the vastness of interstellar space, following Voyager 1, which made the leap six years earlier. Since their launch in 1977, the two probes have traveled more than 11 billion miles across the solar system, lasting much longer than scientists anticipated. Powered by plutonium and drawing 400 watts of power each to run their electronics and heat, the probes still snap photos and send them back to NASA. After 42 years, though, only six of Voyager 2's 10 instruments still work, and NASA scientists expect the probe will go dark in 2025, well before it leaves our Solar system. But what if Voyager 2 needed only a couple of watts of power?

And on Nov. 2, 2018, NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft crossed into the vastness of interstellar space, following Voyager 1, which made the leap six years earlier. Since their launch in 1977, the two probes have traveled more than 11 billion miles across the solar system, lasting much longer than scientists anticipated. Powered by plutonium and drawing 400 watts of power each to run their electronics and heat, the probes still snap photos and send them back to NASA. After 42 years, though, only six of Voyager 2's 10 instruments still work, and NASA scientists expect the probe will go dark in 2025, well before it leaves our Solar system. But what if Voyager 2 needed only a couple of watts of power?

We regret to report there's more bad news to share about Facebook and how it's protecting your privacy. Some of the highlights from earlier this week include an incredible tech demo, tech gift ideas that cost less than $50 and hands-on with Tesla's latest Autopilot system. As columnist Violet Blue explains, "anyone holding even the barest minimum of cybersecurity knowledge could've figured out in minutes that Butina's interest in cybersecurity was minimal. While she spied on and infiltrated the Republican party, she also was a research assistant at American University and co-authored a paper titled "Cybersecurity Knowledge Networks." Read it if you want to see what achingly fake, buzzword bingo looks like." Oops!'Overpowered' Infinity Blade removed from'Fortnite' Epic admitted it "messed up" with the weapon and has already sent the Infinity Blade into Fortnite's vault.

Welcome to the Cool things this week series. Every week, I'll share a few of papers or articles I've come across. The hope is that others will share some links in the comments section. This category will include breakthroughs that have the potential of enhancing humans or the world we live in. The authors present BrainNet, the first "multi-person non-invasive direct brain-to-brain interface for collaborative problem solving…the interface allows three human subjects to collaborate and solve a task using direct brain-to-brain communication."

Forty years ago, NASA launched twin robotic explorers on a mission to travel farther out than any spacecraft had gone before, and today, they continue to be our most distant emissaries. The story of those probes, and of the people behind them, is the focus of the aptly-titled documentary, "The Farthest," airing Wednesday (Aug. The Voyager probes, referred to by numerical designators "1" and "2," revealed the outer planets of our solar system and then continued to sail beyond. Voyager 2, which was the first to launch on Aug. 20, 1977, visited Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 1 departed Earth on Sep. 5, 1977, overtook its counterpart, and was the first to arrive at Jupiter and Saturn.