Last month, the ESA Gaia satellite underwent a technical anomaly, due to which it was forced to go into safe mode. After a thorough check, the device was successfully restored and resumed the normal course of scientific operations. Now engineers continue to look for the causes of the failure.
Errors in the two electrical blocks of the service module occurred on February 18. Safe mode is activated when some parameters of the spacecraft no longer correspond to the normal operating range. At such times, scientific instruments are turned off, which allows them to be protected from damage, and communication with the Earth is maintained through a low-gain antenna. An initial analysis showed that the cause could be a failure of one of the two transponders. But the main reason has not yet been found. On February 28, the device returned to the usual rhythm of work using an identical backup transponder.
Researchers from around the world are awaiting the second release of Gaia data, scheduled for April 25. It will be based on reviews from mid-2014 to mid-2016.
