Editing Voyager 2 (section)

==== Power ====
[[File:MHW-RTG.gif|thumb|Voyager RTG unit]]
''Voyager 2'' is equipped with three [[MHW-RTG|multihundred-watt radioisotope thermoelectric generators]] (MHW RTGs). Each RTG includes 24 pressed [[Plutonium(IV) oxide|plutonium oxide]] spheres. At launch, each RTG provided enough heat to generate approximately 157 W of electrical power. Collectively, the RTGs supplied the spacecraft with 470 watts at launch (halving every 87.7 years). They were predicted to allow operations to continue until at least 2020, and continued to provide power to five scientific instruments through the early part of 2023. In April 2023 JPL began using a reservoir of backup power intended for an onboard safety mechanism. As a result, all five instruments had been expected to continue operation through 2026.<ref name="nasa-1989" /><ref name="us national space science data center"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Furlong |first1=Richard R. |last2=Wahlquist |first2=Earl J. |date=1999 |title=U.S. space missions using radioisotope power systems |journal=Nuclear News |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=26–34 |url=http://www2.ans.org/pubs/magazines/nn/pdfs/1999-4-2.pdf |access-date=January 2, 2011 |archive-date=October 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016011258/http://www3.ans.org/pubs/magazines/nn/pdfs/1999-4-2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="newpower">{{cite web |title=NASA's Voyager Will Do More Science With New Power Strategy |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-voyager-will-do-more-science-with-new-power-strategy |publisher=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |access-date=April 28, 2023 |archive-date=April 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427182016/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-voyager-will-do-more-science-with-new-power-strategy |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2024 NASA announced that the plasma science instrument had been turned off, preserving power for the remaining four instruments.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/voyager/2024/10/01/nasa-turns-off-science-instrument-to-save-voyager-2-power/ | title=NASA Turns Off Science Instrument to Save Voyager 2 Power |date=October 1, 2024 |publisher=NASA}}</ref>