---
title: "Curiosity Mars Rover Unexpectedly Shut Down Over the Weekend"
description: "NASA's Curiosity rover is currently at a standstill after it unexpectedly went into safe mode July 2 while. The rover is stable, and engineers are trying to zero in on the problem before getting it back up and running."
date: "2016-07-11"
modified: "2016-11-29"
authors:
  - name: "Cecille De Jesus"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/cecille"
url: "https://futurism.com/curiosity-rover-on-standstill-after-suddenly-going-on-safe-mode"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Mars"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "Curiosity rover"
  - "NASA"
  - "safe mode"
---

# Curiosity Mars Rover Unexpectedly Shut Down Over the Weekend

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/A-NASA-3.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/" target="\_blank"\>NASA/JPL\</a\>\</em\>*

**UPDATE:** *Systems have since come back online and the rover is functioning as expected.*

Engineers are not sure why but NASA’s Curiosity Rover suddenly put itself into a precautionary safe mode on July 2. It has stopped most of its activities apart from its self-preservation protocols and is preparing itself to resume communications.

![Curiosity.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/260px-Curiosity_Self-Portrait_at_27Big_Sky27_Drilling_Site.jpg>)
*Curiosity.*

This isn’t the first time Curiosity had a glitch. It went into safe mode three times in 2013 due to software errors. The Kepler space telescope, floating over 120 million kilometers away from Earth [went into emergency mode earlier this year](<http://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/kepler/mission-manager-update-kepler-recovered-and-returned-to-the-k2-mission/>) for unknown reasons as well.

![The Kepler space telescope, back when it was still being assembled. NASA.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/08-2101-kepler.jpg>)
*The Kepler space telescope, back when it was still being assembled. NASA.*

For now, the rover is stable and is communicating with ground controllers, but is at a stand-still until the problem is figured out. Investigations speculate that it may have been caused by a glitch between the camera and data processing software.

"Preliminary information indicates an unexpected mismatch between camera software and data-processing software in the main computer," they said in a [press release](<http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/curiosity-rover-enters-precautionary-safe-mode/>).

So far [NASA has successfully overcome past hiccups](<https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20130319.html>). So let’s trust that they will figure this one out—just like they always have.

### Author social links  
[Facebook](<http://facebook.com/thescientress>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://ph.linkedin.com/in/cecillebautistadejesus>)