New Horizons probe to reach Pluto in 10 days
New Horizons spacecraft, en route the dwarf planet Pluto, has faced a computer malfunction, NASA says.
“The New Horizons spacecraft experienced an anomaly the afternoon of July 4 that led to a loss of communication with Earth,” said NASA in a statement on Sunday, adding that the on-board autopilot has placed the spacecraft in safe mode, while commanding "the backup computer to reinitiate communication with Earth.”
“Due to the 9-hour, round trip communication delay that results from operating a spacecraft almost 3 billion miles (4.9 billion kilometers) from Earth, full recovery is expected to take from one to several days,” the statement further read.
According to NASA, the spacecraft which is about “ten days” away from icy Pluto cannot collect data during the remote-repair period.
New Horizons was launched in 2006 to study Pluto, its moons, particularly Charon, and one or two other Kuiper belt objects as it flies past them. It spent most of its nine-year journey to Pluto in hibernation only to wake up in January.
The spacecraft is due to pass within 7,800 miles (12,552 kilometers) of Pluto on 14 July.
RS/NT/AS
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