March 31, 2005
If it Ain't Broke...

Don't fix it:

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) SMART-1 Moon probe had a bit of unexpected engine action. Spacecraft operators last month were surprised to find the craft’s ion motor happily at work.
...
The event seems to be related to a shift of memory addresses caused by the uploading of a major software patch. The patch was not uploaded to fix a problem, but to provide new functionality for the lunar orbiter’s science instruments, Grahn told SPACE.com.

At least it didn't crash into the moon because someone forgot to convert standard to metric.

Posted by scott at March 31, 2005 09:45 AM

eMail this entry!
Comments
Post a comment
Name:


Email Address:


URL:


Comments:


Remember info?