A NASA probe tasked with studying Mars from orbit is back to performing its science after a major problem kept it sidelined for months.
Why it matters: The MAVEN spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since 2014, and in that time, revealed the key role powerful solar winds played in turning Mars from a wet, relatively warm world into the cold, dry one it is today.
What's happening: In February, MAVEN started having problems with navigational instruments called Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) designed to help make sure the spacecraft is pointed in the right direction.
The intrigue: “The team really stepped up to an existential threat,” Rich Burns, the MAVEN project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement.
What's next: MAVEN is now back to full science operations and embarking on a freshly extended mission that will see it continuing to study how the Sun's activity affects the Martian atmosphere.
