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Glitch Forces Mars Probe Shut-Off

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the your-tax-dollars-at-work dept.

TheEvilOverlord writes to tell us that BBC News is reporting that a 'glitch' has forced the mars probe to switch into a "safe-mode" switching several of its systems off. Perhaps it is just an education tool to show martians the meaning of BSOD.

2 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. "The" Mars Probe? by rk · · Score: 5, Informative

    People, we've got be a little more precise. There are three functioning spacecraft in orbit, one more on the way, and two on the ground on and around Mars. Between NASA and the ESA, it's getting crowded on Mars.

    For those who didn't RTFA, it's the Mars Global Surveyor, which is the oldest of those in orbit.

  2. Re:What sort of software is this probe running? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Mars rovers use WindRiver VxWorks, probably version 5... who needs a BSOD when you have this little favorite "workQPanic: Kernel work queue overflow"... ugh.

    check out http://acmqueue.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=sh owpage&pid=227 , to be fair, these guys go above and beyond to try and prevent glitches and random crappola.

    -j