A team of NASA engineers in Pasadena, Calif., are working this week to take the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter out of a "safe mode" the probe was placed in at the end of August because a computer controller reset.
The new instruction files will be sent to the orbiter that NASA engineers hope will address the problem.
The Mars Reconnaissance Obiter spontaneously rebooted its computer on August 26 and flight team engineers at the Jet Propulsion Lab have been examining possible root causes of that incident and three similar events this year on February 23, June 3 and August 6. Since then, team has kept the spacecraft in a precautionary, minimally active status called "safe mode."
The 4 reboots involved a device, called the "computer module interface controller," that controls which of two redundant main computers on the spacecraft is active, NASA managers say.
Engineers are trying to find out if the trouble lies with the controller or with a voltage glitch somewhere else on the spacecraft. The Aug. six reboot, though not the other three, prompted a switch from one computer to its backup twin.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter uses six instruments to inspect Mars in detail, from subsurface layers to the top of the atmosphere. It began its investigations in 2006.
The new instruction files will be sent to the orbiter that NASA engineers hope will address the problem.
The Mars Reconnaissance Obiter spontaneously rebooted its computer on August 26 and flight team engineers at the Jet Propulsion Lab have been examining possible root causes of that incident and three similar events this year on February 23, June 3 and August 6. Since then, team has kept the spacecraft in a precautionary, minimally active status called "safe mode."
The 4 reboots involved a device, called the "computer module interface controller," that controls which of two redundant main computers on the spacecraft is active, NASA managers say.
Engineers are trying to find out if the trouble lies with the controller or with a voltage glitch somewhere else on the spacecraft. The Aug. six reboot, though not the other three, prompted a switch from one computer to its backup twin.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter uses six instruments to inspect Mars in detail, from subsurface layers to the top of the atmosphere. It began its investigations in 2006.
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