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GALILEO, the US’s space probe to Jupiter, last Friday swung by Venus,
and the planet’s gravity boosted the satellite on its trip to the Jovian
system. During the flyby, though, a fault in software at mission control
set the shutter on a camera flapping wildly.

‘The fault didn’t show in ground testing,’ said Frank Carr, deputy director
for solar system exploration at NASA’s headquarters. ‘It is something that
happens during a high level of activity.’

Carr said that the problem in the control software was now fixed, and
that the camera has taken more, and better controlled, photographs.

Engineers must now decide whether to overhaul the software to ensure
a more permanent fix, or whether tampering with the software would cause
extra problems.