NASA's Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL) engineers in Pasadena, Calif., Say the Martian research lab, the Curiosity rover, experienced an unauthorized reboot of all systems as a result of overheating on November 7th.
It all started when Curyositi transmitted a data packet to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter automatic interplanetary station. Usually, the MRO first receives data from ground-based equipment located on Mars, and then transmits the data already received back to Earth. This method of communication is considered the most effective, because the interplanetary station itself will constantly receive recharging, generating electricity from sunlight.
In turn, the Martian rover "Curiosity" spent a week diagnosing and updating its software, in the general routine process that had been planned in advance by JPL engineers. The nuclear-fueled robot sent engineering and technical data to the MRO, and then received new data for further work. About four and a half hours after the new software was loaded into its memory, the rover’s computers unexpectedly experienced a first reboot, which was caused by the overheating of the systems. This happens every time an error is detected in the program code. This safety measure prevents more serious damage.
NASA experts point out that this is the first time that the Curiosity has crashed and rebooted due to the overheating of its computers since the rover first landed on the surface of the Red Planet on August 6, 2012. At the moment, engineers are investigating software code that could lead to a similar error.
“The telemetry that was received from the rover after this point suggests that the reboot due to overheating of the systems was a response to some unexpected failure,” said Jim Ericson, project manager at JPL, associated with the work of the Martian rover.
The expert also hurried to reassure everyone, saying that now the rover is already working completely in normal mode.
Recall that the rover launch to Mars took place on November 26, 2011 on board the Atlas-5 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida. With a weight of almost a ton and the size of a Mini Cooper, the rover is different from all other similar robots plying the expanses of Mars, because it works on the basis of a radioisotope thermoelectric generator.
The article is based on materials .
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