Status of spacecraft after their missions ended

[erioladastra]

"The Viking 1 lander for example, was still functioning into 1982 and then had to be shut down due to errors in routine software uplinking. "<br /><br />I believe it was shut down due to cost and not due to errors.

 

[erioladastra]

"I can't answer that one with a high degree of confidence. Its my understanding the results of the Corot program are routinely witheld for months on end where in the U.S. we post it on the web the second it reaches us. "<br /><br />Not correct. You might hear about something quickly, but most data are propritary to the research for some amount of time, typically a year. This give sthe person who has devoted a lot of time and energy, some time to analyze the data and start a publication before it becomes open to anyone. As an example, all Hubble data are private for a year.

 

[brellis]

<font color="yellow">I believe it was shut down due to cost and not due to errors.</font>- if it's rising cost and diminishing returns, that's tolerable, though heartbreaking.<br /><br />What a shame it would be to shut down the rovers for budgetary reasons after all they've survived, and all the ops teams have done to navigate the martian terrain. <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>

 

[qso1]

erioladastra:<br />I believe it was shut down due to cost and not due to errors.<br /><br />Me:<br />I'd heard that as well so I can't be sure without two or three sources that agree. The budget thing actually made better sense but then, a technical error doom the Mars Polar Lander. <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>