A NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars is in safe mode after it detected a problem. On Thursday evening the Mars Odyssey, which has been circling the red planet since 2001, noticed something odd with one of its gyroscope-like devices that helps control its orientation. It entered into standby mode as a precaution.
It’s a common action for spacecraft to take when something unexpected occurs. In safe mode, Mars Odyssey ceases science activities but is in contact with the Earth.
It’s a common action for spacecraft to take when something unexpected occurs. In safe mode, Mars Odyssey ceases science activities but is in contact with the Earth.
“The spacecraft is safe and the information we’ve received from it indicates the problem is limited” said Chris Potts the mission manager of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Engineers are troubleshooting the problem and drawing up a plan to resume normal operations before August.
The longest running Mars spacecraft, Mars Odyssey has gone into safe mode several times in the decade. Unlike previous instances, it didn’t have to reboot its computer this time because the issue was limited to the gyroscope-like device.
Besides snapping pictures of the Martian surface, one of Mars Odyssey’s main jobs is to communicate with spacecraft on the ground. NASA planned to use Mars Odyssey and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to monitor Curiosity’s landing.
Keywords – Mars Odyssey, Spacecraft, Standby Mode, Safe Mode, Gyroscope.
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