Posted: Thu, Feb 26, 2009, 7:28 AM ET (1228 GMT)
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft put itself into a safe mode this week after its main computer unexpectedly rebooted, JPL announced late Wednesday. The spacecraft automatically put itself into what JPL called a "precautionary" or limited-activity mode after the computer reboot on Monday as ground controllers worked to understand the cause of the reboot. One possible cause, according to telemetry received from MRO since the incident, is The spacecraft appears to be in good health otherwise and has not had another computer reboot since Monday's incident. However, project officials said they would be cautious in restoring the spacecraft to normal operations, stating that the process would take a few days. Monday's incident is the fifth time that the spacecraft, launched in 2005, entered safe mode.

Related Links:

•  NASA/JPL press release