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Lost Russian Mars Probe Phones Home

Posted by samzenpus on from the it-was-just-resting dept.

astroengine writes "The lost Russian Mars mission Phobos-Grunt has made a surprise announcement: she's alive. According to the European Space Agency (ESA) in the early hours of Wednesday morning, a tracking station in Perth, Australia, picked up a signal from the ailing spacecraft."

3 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Intelligent by Stoutlimb · · Score: 1, Insightful

    He has a 4 digit user id. He was probably one of the first here.

  2. Re:Intelligent by mbone · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The probe was never lost. It is a large object in low Earth orbit; its trajectory is known perfectly well. (Right now it appears to be over Tahiti, for example.)

    What it was was uncommunicative. A spacecraft that says nothing is essentially hopeless, unless you want to send someone up there to grab it. Now that it is talking, there may be a chance to save the mission.

  3. Re:Phobos-Grunt's message by SleazyRidr · · Score: 2, Insightful

    His comment in no way implies that you cannot also be simultaneously excited, miffed and aroused.

    --
    Is 1563649 a prime number?