WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (PNA/Xinhua) — U.S. space agency NASA said Monday its Mars rover Curiosity has resumed full science operations after days of suspension due to an electrical problem.
On Nov. 17, the mission team detected a change in the voltage difference between the body of the Curiosity rover and the 32-volt power bus that distributes electricity to systems throughout the rover. They suspected it might be some kind of short and suspended the rover operations to check for possible causes.
“The likely cause is an internal short in Curiosity’s power source, the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator,” NASA said in a statement. “Due to resiliency in design, this short does not affect operation of the power source or the rover.”
“Following the decision to resume science activities, engineers learned early Nov. 23 that the rover had returned to its pre-Nov. 17 voltage level. This reversal is consistent with their diagnosis of an internal short in the generator on Nov. 17, and the voltage could change again,” the U.S. space agency said.
Over the weekend, Curiosity used its robotic arm to deliver portions of powdered rock to a laboratory inside the rover, it said. The powder has been stored in the arm since the rover collected it by drilling into the target rock “Cumberland” six months ago.
Curiosity landed on the Red Planet in August 2012 with a mission to assess ancient habitable environments and major changes in Martian environmental conditions. It’s now driving towards its primary destination: a mountain called Mount Sharp.(PNA/Xinhua)