Mars rover Opportunity needs a software hack to jog its memory

This artist rendering released by NASA shows the NASA rover Opportunity on the surface of Mars.



PHOTOS: Weird things spotted on Mars by UFO conspiracy theorists This artist rendering released by NASA shows the NASA rover Opportunity on the surface of Mars.



PHOTOS: Weird things spotted on Mars by UFO conspiracy theorists Photo: HOPD Photo: HOPD Image 1 of / 74 Caption Close Mars rover Opportunity needs a software hack to jog its memory 1 / 74 Back to Gallery

This is worrisome.

Opportunity, the "Energizer Bunny" of Mars rovers, is apparently experiencing some short-term memory loss. Launched in 2004, Opportunity was expected to last only a few months but has operated continuously for a decade.

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In a news release last month, NASA said glitches with the rover's "flash memory," or memory that retains data even when the power is shut off during the rover's "sleep" time, had led to persistent computer resets.

"The team is developing a set of commands to restore usability of the flash memory through an overhaul more extensive than the reformatting that has been used so far," the release said.

Because only one of the seven banks of flash microchip circuits was rejecting data for storage, the team was going to instruct the rover to avoid that entire bank, the release said.

That prompted Discovery News to have a chat with John Callas, NASA's Mars rover project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Callas told Discovery News that after a decade of continuous use, Opportunity's flash memory is starting to "wear out," so to speak, producing episodes of "amnesia" in which the rover tries to use the flash memory but can't. As a result, data is stored where it gets wiped out when the power is off.

Not only is information lost but the rover bogs down, Callas told Discovery News.

"It's like you're trying to drive on a family trip -- the car stalls out every five minutes," he said. "You dont' make much progress that way."

With the problem identified, the NASA engineers are hopeful that a software adjustment -- essentially a hack into the system -- can work around the memory lapses. They should know in a couple weeks if it works, Discovery News said.

Launched in 2004, Opportunity was expected to last only a few months.