Jul 7, 2016 @ 15:54 |
The Curiosity rover put itself into safe mode on July 2, ceasing most activities other than keeping itself healthy and following a prescribed sequence for resuming communications. But till now NASA engineers are not sure about the reason of safe-mode entry. Engineers are working to determine the cause of safe-mode entry of Curiosity Rover. Preliminary information indicates an unexpected mismatch between camera software and data-processing software in the main computer. The near-term steps toward resuming full activities begin with requesting more diagnostic information from Curiosity.
Curiosity is now communicating with ground controllers and is stable. The team operating NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is taking steps to return the rover to full activity following a precautionary stand-down over the Fourth of July weekend.
This is not the first time when Curiosity Rover enters in safe mode, during 2013 Curiosity has entered in safe mode three times.
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On August 6, 2012, 05:17:57 UTC, [August 5, 2012, (10:32 p.m. PDT)], NASA achieved one of the biggest milestones in science and technology – Curiosity landed on Mars. Curiosity was designed to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms called microbes. In other words, its mission is to determine the planet’s “habitability.” The rover landed in Mars’ Gale Crater in August 2012. During its first year on Mars, the mission achieved its goal by determining that, more than 3 billion years ago, the region offered fresh-water lakes and rivers with environmental conditions well-suited to supporting microbial life, if life has ever existed on Mars. In continuing investigations, the mission is learning more about the ancient wet environments and how and when they evolved to drier and less habitable conditions.
Curiosity is going to stay additional two-year
NASA last week approved an additional two-year extension, beginning Oct. 1, 2016, for the Mars Science Laboratory Project, which developed and operates Curiosity.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, manages the project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL is a division of Caltech in Pasadena.