Curious Problems on Mars

SpaceX was not the only space mission dealing with problems last week.  The Mars rover Curiosity was also dealing with problems that delayed the mission for more than a week.  It appears a computer glitch in late February caused the rover to switch into safe mode.  Luckily, built-in redundancies were established for this type of scenario. Curiosity switched from Computer A to Computer B while repairs are underway.  Some memory loss was anticipated as a result of the computer problems.

And now a solar storm is approaching Mars, causing NASA to shut down the rover one more time.  Solar radiation may have also been the cause of the earlier computer glitch, so it makes sense to be safe.

Only last month had Curiosity started to collect its first Martian samples by drilling into the planet's surface (see image below), with NASA noting:

"The most advanced planetary robot ever designed is now a fully operating analytical laboratory on Mars," said John Grunsfeld, NASA associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. "This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August, another proud day for America." 

Hopefully, the mission will get back on track after these bumps.