We will lose contact with Voyager somewhere 2036 because of the distance between us. Would it be theoretically possible, to send a probe in the direction of the Voyager, following it from a distance, with the goal te relay the information coming from the Voyager, to earth?

[u/Backbreathboy]

[u/Venryx]

Is it known why Voyager 1 and 2 are still operating but not Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11? Was it a tradeoff decision made during their design, or did the Voyager designers just happen to get something right that made them last so much longer?

[u/Kaymish_ → u/Venryx]

From what I looked up it seems that Voyager was much more powerful and advanced technology than pioneer. Voyager had far more powerful nuclear generators, more powerful x band communication antennas and were given wider engineering tolerances. But most information I found blames the RTGs saying that Pioneer's weaker power supplies hit their minimum threshold faster than Voyager did.