A research satellite exploring Mars suddenly rebooted and went into “safe” mode recently but is expected to return to normal operations next week. Jim Erickson the project manager for NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, stated  that researchers are doing final reviews to try and figure out the cause of the malfunction prior to going through the extended and intricate process necessary to bring the spacecraft back to normal mode.

Erickson stated the spacecraft does not appear to have suffered any damage. However, the switch to safe mode was triggered by a high power load indication. Therefore, it either did detect an exceptionally high load, or a temporary bug caused it to interpret there was a high load when there really wasn’t. The latter may have been the result of a charged particle such as a cosmic ray or similar particle from the sun hitting the circuit that measures the load on the power source. The cause, however, may never be known for certain.

The orbiter, which was launched in August 2005, has instruments that conduct close-up photography of the Martian surface, look for subsurface water, analyze minerals, trace the quantities of dust and water distributed in the atmosphere, and monitor daily global weather on the planet. The mission is to be completed on December 31, 2010.