NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Goes Into 'Safe Mode' After Encountering Technical Problem

Hubble, launched in 1990, has so far made over 1.3 million observations.

By Edited by Gadgets 360 Newsdesk | Updated: 27 October 2021 14:11 IST

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Goes Into 'Safe Mode' After Encountering Technical Problem

Hubble is a joint project by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA)

Highlights

The frequency of glitches with Hubble have increased over the years
NASA hopes Hubble will continue to serve for some more years
But it's readying next-generation James Webb Space Telescope for December

NASA's main workhorse for deep-space observation has faced a new technical issue this week that has forced scientists to pull it into “safe mode”. The safe mode is designed to keep the Hubble Space Telescope, which has revealed several mysteries of outer space, stable and allow scientists to work on it to address whatever problem it is encountering in functioning normally. In a tweet, the space agency said the telescope has experienced “synchronisation issues” with internal spacecraft communications. This is the latest in a string of challenges the three-decade-old telescope has faced recently.

“Hubble's science instruments went into safe mode on Monday after experiencing synchronization issues with internal spacecraft communications,” NASA tweeted.

Hubble's science instruments went into safe mode on Monday after experiencing synchronization issues with internal spacecraft communications. Science observations have been temporarily suspended while the team investigates the issue. The instruments remain in good health.
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) October 25, 2021

Hubble is a joint project by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched in 1990 and has so far made over 1.3 million observations. A few months ago, the space observatory experienced a technical issue after which all astronomical viewing was halted for a month. The Hubble returned to action a month later following a remote repair job by NASA scientists.

These glitches are not an exception to the Hubble but their frequency has increased over the years. NASA hopes Hubble will continue to serve for some more years but it is readying the more powerful, next-generation James Webb Space Telescope for a December launch, says a report in CNET. The report added that when the telescope is in safe mode, it remains stable and powered through its solar panels even as the team tries to fix the technical problem.

NASA Detects Signs of First Planet Outside Milky Way Galaxy

Still, Hubble has been one of the largest and most versatile research tools available to astronomers currently. The telescope has captured some remarkable moments in the Universe.

Recently, NASA shared a stunning image of an outer space region where newborn stars are taking shape. The image was splattered with hues of red and yellow and twinkling stars dotted the region —estimated to be about 13,000 light-years from Earth — like diamonds.

In April, to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA shared an image of a luminous blue star, AG Carinae. The star is about 20,000 light-years away from the Earth. The star, which began forming about 10,000 years ago, is likely to survive only a few years.

What's most interesting about Apple's new MacBook Pros, M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon, AirPods (3rd Generation), and Apple Music Voice plan? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.