Washington:
The Hubble Space Telescope, which has been peering into the universe for more than 30 years, has been down for the previous couple of days, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mentioned Friday.
The trouble is a payload laptop that stopped working last Sunday, the US space agency mentioned.
It insisted the telescope itself and scientific instruments that accompany it are “in good health.”
“The payload computer’s purpose is to control and coordinate the science instruments and monitor them for health and safety purposes,” NASA mentioned.
An try to restart it on Monday failed.
NASA mentioned initial proof pointed to a degrading laptop memory module as the supply of the laptop trouble. An try to switch to a back-up memory module also failed.
The technologies for the payload laptop dates back to the 1980s, and it was replaced for the duration of upkeep work in 2009.
Launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope revolutionized the world of astronomy and changed our vision of the universe as it sent back pictures of the solar program, the Milky Way and distant galaxies.
A new and more highly effective one, known as the James Webb Space Telescope, is scheduled to be deployed late this year. It is developed to peer deeper into the cosmos than ever prior to.