Engineers working on NASA's Voyager 1 probe have successfully mitigated an issue with the spacecraft's thrusters, which keep the distant explorer pointed at Earth so that it can receive commands, send engineering data,

After almost five decades sailing through space, NASA is trying to squeeze a few more years out of the venerable Voyager 1 deep space probe by swapping a wonky thruster system for a disused secondary one to ensure the craft can keep its radio antenna pointing at the Earth.

According to NASA, this problem first cropped up in 2002 when engineers noticed the fuel tubes that route hydrazine fuel to the attitude thrusters were showing reduced flow. The team eventually identified the problem as a buildup of silicon dioxide, a byproduct of a rubber diaphragm in the fuel tank.

Voyager 1 spent the last 47 years hurtling in a straight line away from Earth, exploring the deepest reaches of space that humanity has ever ventured. However, NASA must carefully manage Voyager 1 as the probe ages and slowly breaks down 15 billion miles away from the closest person.