The Hubble Space Telescope drifts through space in a picture taken from the Space Shuttle Discovery … [+]
It’s hard being a 34-year-old space telescope. NASA is fixing an issue with the older Hubble Space Telescope that caused a disruption in scientific operations. The space agency described the error as a “persistent gyroscope (gyroscope) problem” in a single opinion on Friday.
The telescope entered secure mode on April 23. Safe Mode is a protective mode that Hubble enters when a technical problem occurs. This gives NASA the chance to diagnose and fix the error, but additionally means Hubble won’t send back any latest scientific data. However, there may be some excellent news. “Hubble’s instruments are stable and the telescope is in good condition,” the agency said.
The gyros help Hubble point in the correct direction. Three of Hubble’s six gyroscopes are operational, but one in every of those three gave erroneous readings that triggered secure mode. The same gyro put the telescope into secure mode back in November, so that is an ongoing issue. “The team is currently working to identify potential solutions,” NASA said. “If necessary, the spacecraft can be reconfigured to operate with only one gyro, leaving the other remaining gyro in reserve.”
This was Hubble’s most detailed view of the Pillars of Creation within the Eagle Nebula.
Some of essentially the most spectacular space images of our time come from Hubble, including the famous Pillars of Creation, a surprising take a look at gas and mud in a star-forming region of the Eagle Nebula. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, revisited the Pillars of Creation in 2022. NASA sees Webb as a companion to Hubble relatively than a alternative.
Hubble is a remarkable story of perseverance. Technical glitches have plagued the telescope because it was first launched in 1990, when a defect in the first mirror made the pictures blurry. NASA sent an area shuttle mission to correct the error. This was the primary of 5 servicing missions that prolonged the telescope’s lifespan and improved its capabilities. In recent years, Hubble has experienced computer problems and other problems with its gyroscopes. Each time, NASA brought the telescope back online.
NASA teams had their hands full with mission disruptions. The Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, is even older than Hubble. A chip failure occurred in November that disrupted scientific work in interstellar space, but engineers have made progress repairing the aging probe. That’s not all. The TESS planet-hunting satellite entered Security mode on April twenty third. NASA remains to be investigating the incident.
Hubble was designed to last 15 years, but significantly outlived NASA’s original plans. With an extended track record of troubleshooting, the space agency is optimistic about finding an answer to the newest problem. NASA said it “anticipates that Hubble will continue to make groundbreaking discoveries this decade and potentially into the next decade, collaborating with other observatories such as the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope.”
