MGS com. glitch!?

[kane007]

Spaceflight Now 2006/11/08<br /><br />Due to errors that occurred on 2006/11/02 during the routine realignment of the solar panels the spacecraft switched to its backup circuitry connection. Signals from the spacecraft were received on Nov. 5 during four different orbits, but it did not carry any data from the spacecraft. The frequency received indicates it had moved into a safe mode, awaiting instructions from Earth.<br /><br />No further signals were received on 5 or 6 November leading engineers to conclude MGS has re orientated itself into a mode were it "turns that array toward the sun to maintain its power supply and rotates the rest of the spacecraft in the same direction, thereby making communication with Earth less effective."<br /><br />Also from the JPL Mars Global Surveyor news desk.

 

[earth_bound_misfit]

SDC is carrying a article on this too.<br /><br />http://www.space.com/news/061110_mgs_missing.html <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Wanna see this site looking like the old SDC uplink?</p><p>Go here to see how: <strong>SDC Eye saver </strong>  </p> </div>

 

[qso1]

Just one of those missions that has done so well, despite this problem which I hope its not, but suspect its the end of the trail for MGS...it has done well, very well and went beyond what was expected of it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

I noticed in that article they may have MRO take a picture of it to see what shape it's in.<br /><br />Team effort! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

I saw that as well and its kind of nice to know that is an available option at mars these days. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[radarredux]

> <i><font color="yellow">I noticed in that article they may have MRO take a picture of it to see what shape it's in.</font>/i><br /><br />I haven't seen any news from MRO since Mars came out from behind the Sun. I think the last updates were from Oct 16th. Does anyone know of any recent images, data, or other news for MRO?</i>

 

[kane007]

Your right, very quiet!

 

[kane007]

And finally someone at SpaceDaily has decided to carry this not so good piece of news.<br /><br />Hasta la vista Mars Global Surveyor, or am I just being premature?

 

[christine16]

i hope you are premature

 

[earth_bound_misfit]

Wow, still no news on this bird?<br />Me off to look deeper. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Wanna see this site looking like the old SDC uplink?</p><p>Go here to see how: <strong>SDC Eye saver </strong>  </p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>An MRO picture of it would be fantastic in its own right!<br /><br />An image of a spacecraft orbiting another planet, taken by another spacecraft orbiting that planet?<br /><br />We have come a long way from Sputnik!<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />No kidding! Heck, it's rare to get that kind of information for satellites orbiting *Earth* (since the satellite taking the picture is usually classified).<br /><br />I hope they can get MGS back up and running, but if not, well, it's like saying goodbye to a 20-year-old dog. It's very hard to say goodbye, but MGS had a heck of a long run considering. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[llivinglarge]

It won't be the first time... MGS snapped photos of Mars Express and and Odyssey.<br /><br />This would be the first high quality photo.

 

[kane007]

Starting to look like a permanent problem.<br /><br />Maybe its time we finally bid MGS adieu?<br /><br /><b>Hope fades for missing Mars Global Surveyor craft at</b> SpaceFlight Now.<br /><br /><b>Mars Global Surveyor Remains Silent, Feared Lost at</b> Space.com<br /><br /><b>Mars Global Surveyor Mission Ends In Triumph</b> MarsDaily<br /><br /><br />

 

[bobw]

Friday 13... a good day for a news release like this one <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /><br /><br />http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/newsroom/20070413a.html<br /><br />"The loss of the spacecraft was the result of a series of events linked to a computer error made five months before the likely battery failure," said board Chairperson Dolly Perkins, deputy director-technical of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.<br /><br />On Nov. 2, after the spacecraft was ordered to perform a routine adjustment of its solar panels, the spacecraft reported a series of alarms, but indicated that it had stabilized. That was its final transmission. Subsequently, the spacecraft reoriented to an angle that exposed one of two batteries carried on the spacecraft to direct sunlight. This caused the battery to overheat and ultimately led to the depletion of both batteries. Incorrect antenna pointing prevented the orbiter from telling controllers its status, and its programmed safety response did not include making sure the spacecraft orientation was thermally safe.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[brellis]

Emily Lakdawalla's Article for the Planetary Society<br /><br />Sounds like they needed to run a Disk Repair program. <br /><br />That said, MGS had an incredible 10-year run around Mars thanks to the diligent efforts of the support team. How many people out there have run a computer for 10 years without a catastrophic directory error? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[dreada5]

MGS's incredible 10-year run was as much a result of NASA's brilliance, as its demise was a result of its apparent human weaknesses.

 

[bobw]

That's the most detailed report I have seen, thanks. <br /><br />Changing the low order byte of one variable and the high order byte of another is easy to do. It sounds like a fat finger mistake... where you push two keys at the same time. I suppose a big advance in memory supply would cause designers to stuff in more machine code before they put in an operating system that lets them address variables by name rather than by location so this kind of thing will be a possibility for a long time to come. <br /><br />It's a tragedy for sure, but stuff happens. I hope the operator doesn't go hang himself or something. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>