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. On January 17, 2025, VNIR data acquisitions resumed, including urgent acquisitions. Since then, ASTER has been acquiring about 600 scenes per day.

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.