NASA's IBEX spacecraft exits contingency mode; now functioning normally

Last month, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) went into contingency mode and the mission team lost the ability to command the spacecraft during the subsequent reset recovery. The team has now restored command capability after successfully resetting the spacecraft on March 2 and the spacecraft has resumed its science operations.

To take IBEX out of contingency mode, the mission team performed a firecode reset, an external reset of the spacecraft, instead of waiting for the spacecraft to perform an autonomous reset and power cycle on March 4.

In a blog post, the mission team said on Monday, "The decision took advantage of a favourable communications environment around IBEX's perigee – the point in the spacecraft's orbit where it is closest to Earth. After the firecode reset, command capability was restored. IBEX telemetry shows that the spacecraft is fully operational and functioning normally."

Back in business!NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) is now fully operational after entering a contingency mode last month. The mission team successfully reset the spacecraft on March 2. Learn more here: https://t.co/w2OSDqaKVT pic.twitter.com/1KzbOqLahB

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) March 6, 2023

Launched on October 2008, IBEX is a spacecraft designed to study the edge of the heliosphere, the bubble-like region that surrounds our solar system and is formed by the solar wind. It is one of NASA's series of low-cost, rapidly developed Small Explorers spacecraft.

The spacecraft, roughly the size of a bus tire, has special science instruments that look toward the interstellar boundary from a nine-day orbit around Earth. The IBEX mission has provided valuable insights into the nature of the heliosphere and how it interacts with the interstellar medium. For instance, the mission's first all-sky map of the heliosphere's boundary revealed a surprisingly bright, wandering ribbon of unknown origin.