Mars Rover Opportunity Throws Itself Into Standby Mode

The Mars rover Opportunity has put itself into a type of standby mode, and NASA managers are waiting for it to resume normal behavior. The rover may have sensed something amiss while it was waiting out the solar conjunction between Mars and Earth. During conjunction, which is just about over, Mars and Earth are on opposite sides of the sun from each other. The star gets in the way of radio communications between the two planets, so rover drivers put Opportunity and Curiosity in a holding pattern...