Second computer glitch shuts down NASA Mars rover

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 18 - The Mars rover Curiosity has had a second computer glitch, extending an unplanned work break for the NASA robot that discovered the first life-friendly chemistry beyond Earth, scientists said on Monday.

Engineers had hoped to resume Curiosity science operations on Monday following a problem with the rover's main computer two weeks ago.

But a second computer problem surfaced on Sunday night as the rover was attempting to radio data files back to Earth, said lead scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology.

"This is not something that is rare or even uncommon," Grotzinger said at a webcast news conference during the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston.

The problem, however, is expected to keep Curiosity's next batch of science results on hold for a few more days, Grotzinger told Reuters.

Before the glitch, the rover had radioed back to Earth its first analysis of rock samples drilled from the inside of slab of bedrock in the rover's Gale Crater landing site.

The rover touched down on August 6 to learn if the planet most like Earth has or ever had the chemical ingredients to support microbial life. The early results, announced last week, were a definitive yes.

Scientists also announced additional evidence on Monday that Curiosity is located in an area once flush with water, a key ingredient for life.

Infrared images and an instrument that fires neutrons into the ground to probe for hydrogen detected minerals that form in water near the mudstone that Curiosity drilled and chemically analyzed.

The rover's camera and its Russian-made neutron probe found more evidence for water in the so-called Yellowknife Bay area, where the rover is presently located, than at sites studied earlier in the mission.

"I see the difference between Yellowknife and the area which is just before Yellowknife ... showing the different distribution of water. This is a significant variation," Maxim Litvak of the Space Research Institute in Moscow told reporters.

The rover is seven months into a planned two-year, $2.5 billion mission at Gale Crater, a giant impact basin located near the Martian equator. Scientists eventually want to explore a 3-mile (5-km) mountain of what appears to be layered sediments rising from the crater floor.

(Editing by Jane Sutton and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/second-computer-glitch-shuts-down-nasa-mars-rover-205130487.html

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Getting Back in Business in Clinton - KWQC-TV6 News and Weather ...

The story started in January.

The Clinton Humane Society tried to renew their normal contract with the city.

But the mayor sad no.

Now - stray animals have no where to go.

But thanks to a grassroots effort from volunteers - things may be getting back on track for the society.

"We said we will help the animals until we spend our last dime."

Sandi Bartles is the Operations Manager for the CHS. She says ?a business with no funding usually doesn't work but they will try to stay afloat to serve it's main clients - the animals.

"We had so much public support," she adds. "We had so much public donation and requests that we start again because the citizens had no place to take them."

In order to make up for the lack of money - the society has had to start charging when people bring in strays - something they have never done before.?

$25 for a dog and $15 for a cat - But that is hardly enough to cover the full cost of a stay.

But a signature campaign started by volunteers from Clinton has started to yield results.?

After only a week - nearly 400 signatures are on paper - if favor of the animals and the society.

Hattie Dunham has been volunteering at this shelter for a long time - since she was a little girl.

Now- all grown up - she is part of the board here.

She says that money makes the world go round - and without it - these animals will suffer.

"We can't just give the animals love. they need food and shelter too. It will be more difficult but I hope we can work with the city eventually."

Without funds - workers here believe the shelter can maybe last for a year before running out of money.?

But hope is being held out that the petitions will find their way to City Hall - and make a difference.

"They actually show what the public feels and what they want," Dunham says. "We hope the council members who represent the people who sign the petitions will hear that."

Source: http://www.kwqc.com/story/21480012/getting-back-in-business-in-clinton

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