Jim Erickson

LA CAÑADA ? The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter came back online Monday when Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers placed it in safe mode after it inexplicably switched from one onboard computer to another. The switch from the A computer to the B computer happened late Thursday night, and engineers have been working since then to determine what made the spacecraft make the swap. It was the first time the computer switch has occurred in the three years that the Mars orbiters has been sending images and data.

LA CAÑADA — The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Monday came back online when Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers placed it in safe mode after it inexplicably switched from one onboard computer to another. The switch from the A computer to the B computer happened late Thursday night, and engineers have been working since then to determine what made the spacecraft make the swap. It was the first time the computer switch has occurred in the three years that the Mars orbiters has been sending images and data.

NASA's long-lived Mars rovers demand care as they age and the Martian winter approaches. Dr. John Callas, newly named project manager for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission, is coordinating the work to meet these challenges. He is a JPL scientist who was named project manager after earlier roles as science manager and deputy project manager for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. "It continues to be an exciting adventure with each day like a whole new mission," Callas said in a prepared statement.

LA CAÑADA ? The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter came back online Monday when Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers placed it in safe mode after it inexplicably switched from one onboard computer to another. The switch from the A computer to the B computer happened late Thursday night, and engineers have been working since then to determine what made the spacecraft make the swap. It was the first time the computer switch has occurred in the three years that the Mars orbiters has been sending images and data.

LA CAÑADA — The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Monday came back online when Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers placed it in safe mode after it inexplicably switched from one onboard computer to another. The switch from the A computer to the B computer happened late Thursday night, and engineers have been working since then to determine what made the spacecraft make the swap. It was the first time the computer switch has occurred in the three years that the Mars orbiters has been sending images and data.