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 The BBC's Lindsay Marnoch"There have been anxious faces at NASA mission control"  real 28k  Richard Cook, MPL Roject Manager"It's not unexpected"  real 28kThe entry procedureNasa simulation of MPL's landing real 28k Probing the surfaceTwo probes should have penetrated the Martian surface real 28k |
Nasa hopeful despite Mars silence
The team of scientists at mission control make a desperate plea: |
Nasa scientists are continuing their attempts to make contact with the Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, which is believed to have landed but has failed to send a signal to mission control.
Latest estimates indicate that the MPL touched down on a gentle slope of about two degrees near the edge of a ridge within an "amphitheatre".
The MPL had a complicated set of landing manoeuvres |
Yet attempts to communicate with the lander and the two microprobes during the first 12 hours after the scheduled landing time did not succeed.
The Deep Space 2 team at Nasa's Jet Propulsion laboratory in Pasadena will now try to contact the probes every two hours.
The Mars Polar Lander's next opportunity to contact Earth will be at 0430 GMT on Sunday.
Project manager Richard Cook said he remained optimistic despite the setbacks.
"I am very confident that the lander survived the descent," he said.
Last contact
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Possible Problems |
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Computer in 'standby' mode |
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Compass malfunction |
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Landing angle too steep |
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Destroyed on entry |
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Did not separate from cruise-craft |
There are several theories as to why none of the three craft has functioned as planned.
The most likely scenario, according to Mr Cook, is that the computer in the MPL has switched into "standby" mode, possibly to correct an error in its instruments.
It would not come out of its safe mode until early Sunday morning GMT, he added.
Project Manager Richard Cook says he's still "upbeat" |
The angle of landing for either the MPL or the probes could also have been too steep for the antennas to function correctly.
More catastrophic scenarios are that the craft was destroyed on entry, or did not separate from the cruise-craft, which would have sent it plummeting to the Martian surface.
Latest data suggests however that all three craft did land.
If mission controllers fail to make contact by Sunday evening GMT they will try to communicate by using the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, currently orbiting the planet, as a relay system.
Nevertheless, many privately realise that the longer that the MPL stays silent the less are the chances that it will ever be heard of again.
Experiments
Scientists sent the MPL to Mars to learn about the planet's climate by studying layers of dust and possibly ice during the 90-day mission.
Target: The Martian South Pole's layered terrain |
They would then begin operating compact microlaboratories, collecting and testing subsurface soil samples, heating them in a tiny oven and scanning them to check for signs of water.
The MPL even had a microphone on board to record the first sounds from another world.
Loss of the lander would be a devastating blow to Nasa. Only 10 weeks ago, the lander's sibling spacecraft, the $125m Mars Climate Orbiter, burned up in the planet's atmosphere because of an embarrassing mix-up over imperial measurements (pounds, feet and inches) and metric units.
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02 Dec 99 | Sci/Tech |
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Mars Polar Lander on track |
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30 Nov 99 | Sci/Tech |
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Polar lander ready for Mars |
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30 Nov 99 | Sci/Tech |
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Martian mysteries under microscope |
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11 Nov 99 | Sci/Tech |
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Orbiter loss blamed on 'silly mistakes' |
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SpaceRef.com |
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Nasa Mars |
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Mars Polar Lander |
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Exploring Mars |
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