Engineers analyze the Curiosity rover problem when a short circuit that caused a software defense reaction caused an automatic shutdown of a scientific operation on February 27th.
Curiosity was supposed to transfer samples of dust drilled into the rock when a short circuit interrupted the operation. At this point, the drill should have poured the rock into the sieve. From there, the samples were supposed to get into the onboard scientific instruments of the rover.
At this time, engineers discovered that a short circuit that lasted less than one hundredth of a second caused a protective reaction from the software.
"The most likely cause is a periodic closure in the percussion mechanism of the drill. We will analyze the situation," said project manager Jim Ericson, from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
