Too cold for batteries. That, and longevity, is why they used an RTG.
Comment on NASA powers down science instrument to conserve Voyager 2 power supply
stoy@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
They should send a powerbank up to the Voyager.
…
Yeah, that is a joke but made me wonder two things:
- Say you have the abillity to connect a powerbank to the Voyager, how long would a typical powerbank with 3x 16850 cells be able to power the probe?
- Would it be possible to build a proble like Voyager 2, which has a docking port and could accept a space craft that could transfer power to the Voyager 2?
shalafi@lemmy.world 4 weeks ago
stoy@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Yeah, I realize that, but I just thought it would be interesting to put the energy use in perspective…
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 4 weeks ago
Why wouldn’t you just send a new device at that point? Also Voyager is actively moving so it would be very hard to catch up to
stoy@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
All good points, and I fully agree with you, I just though it was funny to immagine a space probe charging from a powerbank.
Then I started wondering how a modern powerbank with modern lithium ion cells would compare to the needs of the Voyager 2 probe, and started thinking of how it could be done.
notgold@aussie.zone 4 weeks ago
Too cold for batteries but just for kicks; 2Ah(3x3.7V)=22.2watts. Voyagers RTG’s left earth producing about 470watts so that powerbank with 3 x 18650’s would equal about 3 minutes. Not sure what the usage is though so maybe longer, plus the RTG’s power output fades over time so probably longer again.
stoy@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
Ah, cool that is very interesting!