The explorer Mars had trouble

The Mars Odyssey, the spacecraft flying around American Mars, switched to safe mode after the computer system detected a technical problem.

Illustration of Mars Odyssey spacecraft flying around Mars.

In standby mode, the Mars Odyssey stops all scientific activities but keeps in touch with the control center on earth, the AP said.

'The ship is still in a safe state. The information we received showed that the incident only had an impact on one part of the ship, 'said Chris Potts, Mars Odyssey curator of the US Aerospace Agency (NASA).

NASA engineers are analyzing the incident and aiming to bring the ship back to normal before Curiosity landed on Mars in August. Currently the Curiosity is flying to the red planet.

The longest-running Mars research spacecraft, the Mars Odyssey has switched to standby many times over the past decade. Unlike previous times, it doesn't have to restart the computer because the problem only affects one device this time.