Aug. 26, 2009 -- A moon probe NASA intends to use to search for water spent nearly all of its spare fuel due to a still-unexplained equipment glitch. By the time flight controllers realized what had happened, it was nearly too late. On Saturday, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite known as LCROSS switched to a backup navigation system that kept its steering thrusters firing far longer than engineers ever intended. The incident occurred while LCROSS was out of range from ground tracking stations so the team didn't realize what was going on until later in the day. "I got a phone call at home at like 3:30 in the morning telling me of the situation," mission manager Daniel Andrews told Discovery News. "The mission operations manager had declared a spacecraft emergency, which was appropriate given the circumstances." Andrews' first question: "Did we lose the mission?" Related Content:
"The assessment at the time was that this was a big hit, but we believe we have enough (fuel) to finish the mission," he said. Engineers recovered the primary navigation system and stopped the fuel hemorrhage. LCROSS is designed to cast its 2.5-ton rocket motor used to put it into space so that the now-empty booster will crash into a permanently shadowed crater in the lunar south pole on Oct. 9. The lunar probe will use its instruments to study the material ejected in the crash, which is expected to carve out a 66-foot-wide, 13-foot-deep crater, for signs of water. Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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