Earth to Kepler: spacecraft no longer in emergency mode

According to a NASA release, the Kepler spacecraft is no longer in Emergency Mode, running on fuel-burn mode. But experts are still uncertain as to why the vessel switched to EM, Tech Times reports. On Sunday, Kepler was stable. Its antenna was pointing to the Earth signaling that the Deep Space Network ground communications were on a normal timetable allowing scientists to capture data from Earth.

Kepler converted to EM nearly 14 hours ago during its scheduled trajectory towards the Milky Way Center for NASA’s Campaign 9 mission intended for microlensing observations. NASA has thus reasoned that the spacecraft’s mechanism when performing this operation could have caused Kepler to enter EM.

“The anomalous EM event is the first that the Kepler spacecraft has encountered during its seven years in space,”NASA said in a statement. Investigators will continue to deduct possible causes, as other researchers continue to prioritize Kepler’s normal functioning. All board systems will be examined ensuring it can continue performance, especially for the Campaign 9 effort.

Other earth observatories will cover the Campaign 9 project for Kepler as maintenance is continued. Campaign 9 will be terminated on July 1 because views of the Milky Way’s center will be compromised.

As operations slowly normalize, NASA will remain alert. NASA believes Kepler’s recovery is attributed to the agency’s swift response and determination and appreciate the support from the public community. NASA is also grateful to Deep Space Network of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other comparable missions that sacrificed their resources for Kepler’s recovery.