NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope take an unexpected breather.
The iconic observatory went into a protective “safe mode” early Sunday morning (March 7), but drivers look confident it will bounce off relatively briefly.
“At ~ 4:00 AM EST [0900 GMT] On Sunday, the Hubble Space Telescope went into safe mode due to a software error on board. All scientific systems look normal and Hubble is safe and stable. The team is working on plans to return it safely to normal science operations, “said Hubble team members. Sunday night announced via the telescope’s official NASA Twitter account.
Related: The best Hubble Space Telescope images of all time!
On Sunday ~ 4: 00 EST, the Hubble Space Telescope went into safe mode due to a software error on board. All scientific systems look normal and Hubble is safe and stable. The team is working on plans to bring it back safely to normal science operations. pic.twitter.com/6JlSSHisLdMarch 8, 2021
Hubble, a joint mission of NASA and the European Space Agency, launched to Earth around the orbit of the Discovery spacecraft in April 1990. The telescope’s vision was initially famous, but astronauts corrected the mistake in 1993, and Hubble delivered a lot. images and groundbreaking discoveries since then.
Spacecraft go into safe mode when they detect a deviant condition that could threaten their well-being. Although some alerts in safe mode indicate a serious problem, most are due to minor bugs that could resolve issues.
In October 2018, for example, Hubble went into safe mode after experiencing issues with two of its orientation-maintaining gyroscopes. The dark time lasted three weeks, but Hubble bounced back in good condition.
We just have to keep our fingers crossed that the current software problem can also be solved. Hubble has been a big part of our lives for over three decades, and most of us are not ready to say goodbye yet.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out there“(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.