Nasa loses contact with Mars spacecraft
Tuesday, 14 Nov 2006 11:10
Impression of Mars Global Surveyor by Corby Waste
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Nasa scientists are continuing to re-establish contact with the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), which has been lost for more than a week.
MGS has been orbiting Mars since 1999 and carries five instruments to view the planet and beam the images back to Earth.
In the past seven years it has gathered information on the Martian terrain, found evidence of the presence of water at or near the surface and produced the first three-dimensional profiles of Mars's north pole.
But its long period in space may be taking its toll on the spacecraft, with a problem occurring at the start of November in the motor controlling the solar panels.
Scientists at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory believe that the spacecraft has now put itself into emergency standby mode.
In an interview with the Reuters news agency, Tom Thorpe, the spacecraft's project manager said there is "a good chance of recovering it still".
"It's not clear how long it will take us to exhaust possibilities or come to a conclusion that we're not going to hear from it," he said. "If it's getting sufficient power, the spacecraft could stay healthy for years."
Pictures will be taken of MGS this week by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to gauge the spacecraft's position in relation to the sun.