Everything Everywhere Daily · Thursday, October 1, 2026
Addressing a question about the longevity of the Voyager probes, the host clarified that the Tesla sent into space has not disintegrated and that it would take millions of years for significant damage from cosmic rays or micrometeorites. The primary danger to deep space probes lies in their electronics, which the Voyager probes are protected against through hardening, shielding, and redundancy.
“Well, Ralph, for starters, the Tesla that was sent into space to test the Falcon Heavy rocket has not disintegrated. It would take millions of years for cosmic rays and micromedeorites to cause any level of disintegration.”
“The danger to any deep space probe is actually in the electronics. A high-energy particle can strike a memory cell or a processor and flip a bit, corrupting data or causing a computer fault.”
“The Voyager probes protect themselves by hardening their electronics, having some shielding, and having redundancy in their systems.”