Mars surveyor comes to an end
Wednesday, 22 Nov 2006 14:32
Artist's impression of Mars Global Surveyor
Science In Focus
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Nasa officials have said that it is likely the Mars global surveyor (MGS) has come to the end of its working life.
Contact has been lost with MGS since November 2nd and engineers believe that it may have a solar panel malfunctioning so that it cannot generate enough power for the surveyor to function.
MGS is the longest and most productive spacecraft to orbit the red planet; its camera has returned more than 240,000 images of Mars to Earth during its ten years in space.
"Realistically, we have run through the most likely possibilities for re-establishing communication, and we are facing the likelihood that the amazing flow of scientific observations from Mars global surveyor is over," said Fuk Li, Mars exploration programme manager at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
"We are not giving up hope, though."
Attempts to re-establish contact with MGS have included the use of the Mars reconnaissance orbiter, although picture taken by it have not shown any signs of the spacecraft.
A command to use a transmitter that could be heard by one of Nasa's Mars exploration rovers will be sent out later this week in an attempt to locate the MGS.
If contact has been permanently lost, then Nasa scientists argue that its ten years of work has far surpassed any preliminary expectations.
"It is an extraordinary machine that has done things the designers never envisioned despite a broken wing, a failed gyro and a worn-out reaction wheel. The builders and operating staff can be proud of their legacy of scientific discoveries and key support for subsequent missions," said Tom Thorpe, project manager for MGS at JPL.