On November 28, Terra suffered a power anomaly with the shunts between the solar array and the batteries. As a result, there was insufficient total power to maintain functionality of all the instruments. It was decided to stop ASTER data acquisitions by placing the VNIR and TIR into safe mode, sufficiently reducing Terra power consumption. This decision was made based on earlier discussions between the ASTER Science Team, Terra Project Scientist, Terra instrument teams, and the Flight Operations Team (influenced by the fact that ASTER is the largest power user on Terra). Discussions are ongoing on how ASTER can resume limited operations in the near future.

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is an imaging instrument onboard Terra, the flagship satellite of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) launched in December 1999. ASTER is a cooperative effort between NASA, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Japan Space Systems (J-spacesystems). ASTER data are used to create detailed maps of land surface temperature, reflectance, and elevation. The coordinated system of EOS satellites, including Terra, is a major component of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and the Earth Science Division. The goal of NASA Earth Science is to develop a scientific understanding of the Earth as an integrated system, its response to change, and to better predict variability and trends in climate, weather, and natural hazards.