In this image taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera, the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) on NASA's Curiosity rover is pictured, with the Martian landscape in the background on the 32nd Martian day, or sol, of operations on the surface on Sep
In Photo: In this image taken by Curiosity's Mast Camera, the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) on NASA's Curiosity rover is pictured, with the Martian landscape in the background on the 32nd Martian day, or sol, of operations on the surface on September 7, 2012, PDT or September 8, 2012, UTC. This image lets researchers know that the APXS instrument had not become caked with dust during Curiosity's dusty landing.Scientists enhanced the color in this version to show the Martian scene as it would appear under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain. REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/

Engineers have identified an "intermittent short circuit" in the rock drill of the NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity as a cause of of its suspension. According to the officials at NASA, the short circuit was detected by the protective software in the rover that automatically suspended its operations on Feb 27.

The short circuit was identified performed by the engineers on March 5. According to the officials, the short circuit lasted one hundredth of a second, however, it was enough for the protective software to halt its operations.

As reported by Discovery News, the car-sized Curiosity was drilling a rock to take for a powder sample when the incident happened. It is suspected that the powdered dust would have entered into the science instruments aboard Curiosity.

“The most likely cause is an intermittent short in the percussion mechanism of the drill. After further analysis to confirm that diagnosis, we will be analyzing how to adjust for that in future drilling,” said Jim Erickson, project manager at the NASA's jet propulsion laboratory in California.

The short circuit has not impacted the rover operations. Currently NASA is conducting a series of tests to identify all possible consequences associated with the technical glitch. The stalled functioning of the rover arm is expected to resume soon, however, the date has not been confirmed officially.

"A transient short in some systems on the rover would have little effect on rover operations. In others, it could prompt the rover team to restrict use of a mechanism," confirmed NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Mission Status Report.

The Curiosity rover is currently examining the base of a large crater on Mars. Earlier, Curiosity has been successful in establishing evidence that supports the fact that the environment in planet Mars is habitable for microbial life since its conditions are quite similar to Earth.

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