Software upgrade resurrects Mars orbiter

SPACE.com : NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter slipped into a protective “safe mode” in late August, stalling its science observations but safeguarding the $720 million probe from further damage. Instead of rousing the orbiter within a few days, as in past glitches, NASA engineers spent months trying to find the source of the probe’s inexplicable computer rebooting malfunctions."The patient is out of danger, but more steps have to be taken to get it back on its feet,” said Jim Erickson, the spacecraft’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.JPL engineers beamed the 4-year-old orbiter a vital software upgrade last week to patch a potentially mission-killing scenario in the spacecraft’s onboard computer. That scenario, the unlikely occurrence of back-to-back computer reboots, could have sent the powerful Mars orbiter offline for good, mission managers said.The satellite’s resurrection began 30 November with the software update, and new commands are being sent this week to check the spacecraft’s science operations. Actual science observations may resume in earnest next week, mission managers said.