June 28, 2012 <\/p>\n
Image Caption: NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars' south pole in this artist's concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. Image credit: NASA\/JPL <\/p>\n
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online <\/p>\n
NASAs Mars Odyssey orbiter is back in business after the spacecraft found itself placed into safe mode earlier this month. <\/p>\n
The spacecrafts flight team returned the orbiter back to full service this week after a two-week sequence of activities to recover Odyssey from safe mode. <\/p>\n
The orbiter switched itself to safe mode when one of the three primary reaction wheels used for altitude control stuck for a few minutes on June 8. <\/p>\n
NASA engineers determined that the sticking wheel was unreliable, so they switched the spacecraft to a spare one that had been unused since the missions April 7, 2001 launch. <\/p>\n
Odyssey is now back in full, nominal operation mode using the replacement wheel, Steve Sanders, lead engineer for the Odyssey team at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, said in a press release. <\/p>\n
Observations with Odysseys Thermal Emission Imaging System and its Gamma Ray Spectrometer resumed on the Red Planet on Monday. The orbiter also acts as a Mars rover relay for NASA. <\/p>\n
The space agency said that it received data from its Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on Wednesday, showing that Odysseys relaying capabilities are up and going. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
View original post here: <\/p>\n
NASA Engineers Fix Orbiter Millions Of Miles Away<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" June 28, 2012 Image Caption: NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars' south pole in this artist's concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. Image credit: NASA\/JPL Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online NASAs Mars Odyssey orbiter is back in business after the spacecraft found itself placed into safe mode earlier this month. Continue reading