NASA Hubble Space Telescope makes an unexpected break.
The iconic observatory entered safe “safe” mode early Sunday morning (March 7th), but its leaders appear confident it will bounce back in a relatively short time.
“At ~ 4:00 p.m. EST [0900 GMT] on Sunday, the Hubble Space Telescope went into safe mode due to a software error on board. All scientific systems seem normal and Hubble is safe and stable. The team is working on plans for its safe return to normal scientific operations, “Hubble team members announced Sunday night through NASA’s official Twitter account on the telescope.
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At ~ 4:00 EST on Sunday, the Hubble Space Telescope went into safe mode due to an error in the software on board. All scientific systems seem normal and Hubble is safe and stable. The team is working on plans for its safe return to normal scientific operations. pic.twitter.com/6JlSSHisLd March 8, 2021
Hubble, a joint mission of NASA and the European Space Agency, launched into Earth orbit aboard the Discovery space shuttle in April 1990. The telescope’s vision was initially blurred, but astronauts traveling in space fixed the problem in 1993. and Hubble achieved great image results and innovative discoveries from as.
Spaceships go into safe mode when they find an abnormal condition that could endanger their well-being. Although some safe alerts indicate a serious problem, most are the result of minor issues that can be fixed.
In October 2018, for example, Hubble went into safe mode after having problems with two of its gyroscopes to maintain orientation. This dark magic lasted three weeks, however Hubble is back in good shape.
We’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed that the current software problem can be solved. Hubble has been a big part of our lives for more than three decades, and most of us aren’t ready to say goodbye yet.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out there“(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Carl Tate), a book on the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow it on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
