REAL LIFE NEWS: MARS LANDER FAIL BLAMED ON SOFTWARE ERROR
by Hazed
When something goes wrong, blame the computer. The mission bosses for ExoMars are saying that the Schiparelli lander’s crash a few weeks ago was down to a computing glitch.
The lander transmitted data during its descent so scientists have been examining it to find out what went wrong. Their early conclusion points to a series of cascading software errors in the last minute of the descent. The lander ejected its heat shield and its parachute ahead of schedule, then only engaged its thrusters for three seconds, instead of the planned 30 seconds. It appears the onboard computer thought it was a lot closer to the surface than it really was.
If it is confirmed that the crash was caused by buggy software, then it’s good news. It’s a lot easier to fix software than to correct hardware problems. The researchers on the ExoMars team will now try to replicate the software error using a simulation.
Meanwhile, NASA released a photograph showing the lander’s crash site in which the discarded parachute is visible. Poor Schiparelli.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/software-error-implicated-in-crash-of-mars-lander-1788187542
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/10/28/crashed_schiaparelli_landers_chute_and_shields_found/
