Human Error Caused Loss of Mars Probe – DailyTech.com: NASA investigators recently said that a human error started a chain of events which ultimately led to the loss of the Mars Global Surveyor. Ground controllers in Denver mistakenly sent a wrong command to the Mars probe to make it think that a solar panel on the probe was stuck — while trying to free the solar panels, an onboard battery overheated, leading to a permanent loss of power. Workers were supposed to instruct the craft where its antenna should be positioned for communications with Earth.
Even though the error started in Denver, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena said the entire team is sharing blame for the incident.
The interesting thing is that another source is indicating that the spacecraft was lost due to a software error:
NASA: Faulty Software Doomed Mars Spacecraft
– Space.com: Faulty software was responsible for the loss of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) late last year, a NASA review board announced today.
Confirming previous speculations, the board said the MGS loss was likely due to faulty computer code uploaded five months before that ultimately caused one of the spacecraft’s battery to overheat.
“The loss of the spacecraft was the result of a series of events linked to a computer error made five months before the likely battery failure,” said board Chairperson Dolly Perkins, deputy director-technical of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
Technically a software error is also a human error…..since someone had to write the buggy software.
Aliens took it…
James is right. There’s no real contradiction between the two accounts.
I agree there is no contradiction. All errors are human errors, even if they are created during use of the machines.
A branch of science called HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING covers the issue of faulty human memory, faulty human generated software, faulty test parameters.
What the article could talk about is RANDOM FAILURES (you need to understand what random really means first), versus controllable HUMAN FAILURES that can be expected to be understood and prevented.
Besides all this discussion, we just need to learn from the failed design, and correct the failure in the design for new technology coming out of NASA now. Will NASA change their control models so that mistakes like this are reduced next time? I hope so.
Where is Don Eyles, the man who wrote the program for the lunar landing? Heck, he’s probably old enough to post here now.
He analyzed the problem in real-time, saved Apollo 11. (1201 alarm, 1201, roger, we’re go on that)
One of the finest moments for geeks ever — there were lives at stake.
“[MGS] was operational and conducting science on a routine and normal basis longer than any spacecraft in history.” Wonder if the person responsible got a paycheck this month?
http://tinyurl.com/2kzbna
I don’t get it?!!!?!
Where’s the story here?
These thangs might have cost a LOT of “money” — however…
Since the USA has proven that “money” has no “value”, based on what “WE THE PEOPLE” allowed CEOs and other corporate executives to “earn” — then, what’s lost here??? Time?!?!
Wouldn’t the time and energy be better served finding a solution to OVERPAID PEOPLE WHO RUN COMPANIES?
WOW, you are all incredibly stupid sheep!!!