An internal NASA board has released a report according to which human errors triggered a cascade of events that caused the battery of the Mars Global Surveyor to fail causing the loss of the spacecraft in November 2006.
The problems which finally resulted in the loss of the spacecraft started in September 2005 when a routine update to onboard computers caused problems in the spacecraft’s onboard computer memories. Those involved in fixing the problem sent incorrect software commands causing the spacecraft to malfunction.
Scientists lost contact with the $154 million spacecraft in November 2006. NASA and other space agencies tried to find the spacecraft but all attempts were unsuccessful and the mission was declared ended in January.
The cascade of events began when to correct a problem caused in the memories of the spacecraft’s onboard computers, engineers mistakenly uploaded faulty software that disabled its solar panels.
In November a final command was given to the spacecraft to adjust its solar panels, Global Surveyor then pointed towards the sun which caused the battery of the spacecraft to overheat, which finally resulted in its loss within 12 hours.
The Global Surveyor transmitted more than 240,000 pictures of the red planet including the first detailed views of swirling dust devils and gullies. Shortly before it failed it also found evidence that liquid water recently coursed through Mars.
Via: MSNBC
