A pair of extraordinary space missions that have been headed out of the solar system for almost half a century are getting a new lease on life as NASA engineers order the Voyager 1 and 2 deep-space probes to shut down two instruments to save power.

NASA’s twin Voyager probes, which launched in 1977, are the longest-running missions to send data home. But as their power supplies wane, scientists are saying goodbye to one instrument on each spacec

The twin probes should operate for about a year before the team is forced to shut off yet more instruments. The Voyager spacecraft have been cruising through interstellar space for more than 47 years,