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Mars Probe Probably Lost Forever

David Shiga writes, "NASA's silent Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft is likely lost forever. The space agency attempted to take a picture of the 10-year-old spacecraft using the newer Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, but did not detect it, either because its orbit has shifted since last contact, or because it isn't reflecting enough sunlight to be visible. NASA has now ordered its Opportunity rover to listen from the planet's surface for MGS's radio beacon. If that fails, the agency may call on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft to join the search. But MGS may already have run out of power and NASA officials are not optimistic about recovering it."

5 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. Anybody going to miss it? by patio11 · · Score: -1, Troll

    I won't. Up until a minute ago I didn't even know it existed. I suppose there are uncountably many government programs which I am rationally ignorant of... I hope most of them provide some benefit to someone, somewhere, which would put them in marked contrast to space probes. We could just give Lockheed Martin or whoever the R&D slush fund directly and not lose billions of paying the NASA middleman.

  2. Re:May I be the first to say.... by erpbridge · · Score: 1, Troll

    I can see Bush now....

    Gentlemen, the Martians have attacked our spy sattelite. Attack now... We will impress them with our Shock and Awe strategy!

    Behold, Our Superior airpower... What do you mean, we only have a couple light armament sattelites? Wasn't that what daddy's president made Star Wars for, and Empire Strikes back? Send out the X-Wings!

    Guess we'll have to resort to the secondary Shock and Awe strategy... Moon them, then shower them with cute teddy bears.

  3. What is with Mars? by wateriestfire · · Score: -1, Troll

    Why is the world spending billions upon billions on a planet scientists knew there wasn't any life on before we even went up. Now they continue to send probe after probe to this one planet like it is NASA's lovechild. There truly is nothing more to see on that rock, for we have all seen the countless images from mars. I am not even going to get into the absolute stupidity and madness of sending a portion of the population to live there either.

  4. Re:Calling ESA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Mods, mod parent reatard. (or if missing that option, a troll)

  5. mod :up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll