Here is a really nice New York Times story about NASA efforts to keep the Voyager spacecraft alive. They are approaching 50 years old. They are very far away. They are running low on the plutonium that keeps them warm and powered. The fuel for the thrusters is starting to clog the pipes. But NASA recently carried out a "Big Bang" effort to extend the life of these two spaccraft.
One of the 25 year-old engineers admitted that he treats the Voyagers like he treats his aging parents -- problems do crop up. But then he was reminded that his parents had been born AFTER the launch of the Voyagers.
The animation above shows where the two spacecraft are, and where they have been.
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