[ad_1]
From NASA Curiosity Rover on Mars went into safe mode last weekend after a startup error on February 15, but the mobile is communicating normally and should be able to resume its scientific operations soon, according to a statement from the agency.
The safe mode incident began just days after NASA officially ended the mission of its longest mobile aircraft, Opportunity, who has been silent on the radio since June. Fortunately, Curiosity's problems are not nearly as bad.
"We still do not know exactly what the cause is and we are collecting the relevant data for the analysis," said Steven Lee, Curiosity's assistant project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, says in the statement. "The phone has had a punctual reset, but it has been working normally since, which is a good sign."
Since the original error, rebooting was not a problem – Curiosity started smoothly over 30 times. However, the team continues to determine the exact cause of the error and the best way to avoid it in the future. In order to preserve the data relating to the incident itself, the scientific operations are temporarily suspended.
"In the short term, we limit the controls to the vehicle to minimize changes in its memory," Lee said. "We do not want to destroy any evidence of what might have caused the computer to reset."
If everything should soon be back to normal, the calendar is a torment to Curiosity's science team, who spotted an intriguing rock that she wants to drill just 200 meters from the rover. Curiosity is part of the region rich in clay recently started to explore.
"The science team is eager to drill our first sample of this fascinating place," said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity project scientist, in the same release. "We do not yet understand how this area fits into the general history of Mount Sharpso our recent images give us a lot to think about. "
Email Meghan Bartels to [email protected] or follow her @meghanbartels. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link