Mars lander generates an 'anomaly'

PASADENA, Calif., June 19 (UPI) -- U.S. space officials say the Phoenix Mars Lander lost non-critical science data this week and they are trying to determine why the anomaly occurred.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the event occurred when the spacecraft generated an unusually high volume of spacecraft housekeeping data Tuesday. Until the problem is solved, NASA said engineers won't rely on Phoenix storing science data overnight but instead will make use of multiple communication relays to gain extra data.

"The spacecraft is healthy and fully commandable but we are proceeding cautiously until we understand the root cause of this event," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Officials said nearly all of the lost data were images that can be retaken, with the exception of images of a Martian surface that Phoenix's arm dug into after the pictures were taken.

Extra relay opportunities were added to Thursday's schedule, so Phoenix will be able to generate plentiful data without needing overnight storage. Trench-digging, imaging and weather monitoring were among Thursday's projects.