Eight European Spacecraft put in hibernation amid coronavirus outbreak
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
World Affairs
- Published
26th Mar, 2020
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- European Space Agency (ESA) has said that it is putting eight of its spacecraft into hibernation as it scaled down operations during the coronavirus outbreak.
- The agency is further reducing the already limited number of staff working on site at its mission control in Germany. As a result, the instruments and data collection on some space probes are being temporarily stopped.
- The eight spacecraft are among 21 currently flown from Darmstadt. The agency said one staff member there has tested positive for COVID-19.
- The European Space Agency recently said it is postponing the launch of its joint Mars rover mission with Russia's Roscosmos until 2022, in part due to travel restrictions resulting from the pandemic.
- NASA has also temporarily suspended work on the James Webb Space Telescope in California due to the coronavirus, putting its spring 2021 target launch date in jeopardy.
