WIRES:

Mars Polar lander Appears Lost in Space

Monday, 6 December 1999, 9:50 am
Article: Unknown

The $165 million Mars Polar Lander appears to be doomed as an ominous silence greets all efforts to communicate with it.

The craft was supposed to make contact with the Mars Global Surveyor satellite orbiting the planet during a six-minute communications window. However there has been silence since the craft landed on the red planet on Friday at 3pm (UST).

NASA scientists have now tried five times to contact the craft, using both its main antenna and its back up UHF transmitter. Both have failed and the chances of the mission succeeding now appear very slim.

ends

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