Mars rover Spirit has unexplained computer reboots

April 14, 2009
mars rover

(AP) -- NASA's aging Mars rover Spirit has rebooted its computer at least twice for unknown reasons.

Rover project manager John Callas at the in Pasadena said Monday that the rover is in a stable operations state called automode and can remain that way for some time while the problem is diagnosed.

The reboots occurred during the past weekend.

Callas says Spirit's batteries are charged, its are producing energy and its temperatures are within allowable ranges.

The rover team is investigating whether the problem could be related to recent updates of the rover's onboard software.

Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, have been exploring the cold and dusty since 2004

©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Bob_Kob
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
Martians.
Yelmurc
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (4)
Martians.


That's just crazy talk. Its obviously becoming self aware.
RFC
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
If Spirit becomes self-aware, is it itself a Martian?

If anyone knows... I myself am unfamiliar with Martian immigration law.
O2L
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
Martians.


haha! thats what i thought, there is a little green man hitting the reboot button over and over again
Illure
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
I agree with Yelmurc. It's evolving. It just wants to run free in the plains of Mars.
la7dfa
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
Probably because the rovers use Windows ME... ;)
jaggspb
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
The Martian is just trying to see if Spirit is the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator that he ordered.
RFC
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
Ya know, there is some resemblance to Wall-E.... hmmm.
LariAnn
Apr 14, 2009

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Rebooting is a computer's version of doing a double-take. Wonder what Spirit saw that caused a double-take?
Mercury_01
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
NSA
Suzu
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
Dust, Radiation, Shock, Corrosion, Chocolate Cake, Oni, Buddha, Jesus, Usagi. Are all possible reasons for resets.
Illure
Apr 14, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
Mars might have get hit by a solar storm. Due to the weak magnetic field, it would have affect the little Spirit on the surface.
Mercury_01
Apr 14, 2009

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I bet the new administration "borrowed" the rover over the weekend and used it to get the info they want. Then later they'll confront the black budget folks about what they know.
theophys
Apr 15, 2009

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Guys guys guys. It's obviously the communists screwing with our heads. Next they're going start sending the CIA computers porn viruses. Then they'll give all our crops syphilis. It's all a part if their head games.
laserdaveb
Apr 15, 2009

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oh great...one of our viruses infected another planet.
Crossrip
Apr 15, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
Maybe its computer is made by
Gateway
Edylc
Apr 18, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
My guess is it's the update, every time my computer messes up it's from an update, every time any piece of tech I have connected to the internet gets an update it usually messes up. How bad would it suck if your computer was over 33,900,000 miles away when that happened?
robbor
Apr 18, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
i reboot my computer every other week. what does that mean?
stonehead666
Apr 25, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
Maybe uses a MS OS. Win xp or vista...
Rank 3.7 /5 (13 votes)
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mars rover spirit, red planet, solar arrays, software, mars, nasa
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