Mars Curiosity rover suffers electrical problems

NASA's robotic Mars explorer Curiosity has been parked and its sensors turned off as engineers investigate an electrical problem.

NASA's robotic Mars explorer Curiosity has been parked and its sensors turned off as engineers investigate an electrical problem.

The wheeled rover reported a change in the voltage difference between its chassis and its electrical power bus indicating an "electrical leak" through a partially conductive material.

NASA engineers insist the Mars probe is fully capable of operating in its current condition, but they are taking the caution of trying to understand the fault.

While not dangerous in itself, it does reduce the resilience of Curiosity to any further problems.

"Soft shorts reduce the level of robustness for tolerating other shorts in the future, and they can indicate a possible problem in whichever component is the site of the short," NASA officials wrote in a Curiosity status update.

The probe suffered an unexpected computer reboot earlier this month which caused the robot to go into "safe mode". The two issues do not appear related, NASA experts say.

Curiosity is currently engaged in a trek to climb Mount Sharp on Mars' surface in a bid to examine geological clues to the red planet's ancient climate.