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ESA Ends Attempts To Pick Up Phobos-Grunt Signals
Spaceflight Now reports that hope has faded in the attempts to hear from the troubled Phobos-Grunt probe, and the listening project has been shuttered. After the craft's launch, says the article, "ESA continued trying to establish communications this week with tracking stations in Australia and the Canary Islands, but the 29,000-pound Phobos-Grunt spacecraft never responded. ... The agency's communications site in Perth, Australia, contacted Phobos-Grunt at least twice Nov. 22 and Nov. 23, but the probe has remained mysteriously silent since then." (Similar coverage also at the BBC.) See RussianSpaceWeb.com for a more detailed timeline.
Still a few quality control problems. Perhaps Mr. Putin should focus on things that will help grow Russia's future rather than its war machine and faded empire. Besides, it's China that is more likely to take Siberia away from them.
no one can hear you grunt
Gesundheit!
Controller: ". . . Phobos . . . ? Hello, . . . Phobos . . . ? . . . "
Phobos: No response
Controller: " . . . Phobos . . . is it something I said . . . ? . . . "
Phobos: No response
Controller: "Listen, if you don't tell me what's wrong . . . I can't do anything about it . . .Phobos . . . ?"
Phobos: No response
Controller: "I tried to call you . . . really . . . many times . . . but you didn't answer . . . "
Phobos: No response
Controller: "Look, I know what you're thinking, but that Chinese Probe means nothing to me. I was just monitoring it . . . Phobos . . . ?"
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
This rumor is not true.
Please see official answer to this from NASA:
http://www.marstravel.org/2011/11/response-from-nasa-regarding-assistance.html
If what I read at the russianspaceweb,com site is true, that NASA refused (or was prohibited) to help revive this craft merely because of the presence of a Chinese componen
In NASA's defense, they probably couldn't do a thing about it and probably weren't asked to. I doubt the story is legit.
It's good to know that's one Bad Thing my government actually hasn't done. Now if they'd just stop doing the dozens/hundreds of other Bad Things, the forecast would be truly rosy.
They will tell John Romeros head how to get back to Earth if they do that!
It's not, read the other reply!
I did after I posted my reply. It wasn't there when I started my post.
I was in the control room here in Darmstadt when this conversation was ongoing. It's never a happy moment when you stop trying, but that's nearly 4 weeks now.
for another 15 years, just like Mars96 did.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_96
...the Leather Goddesses got it.
At least were not china, or india, or thailand, or indonesia, or rwanda, or uganda, or... most places.
And next:
Wolves accused of eating sheep!
This rumor is not true! Please see the official answer from the lead wolf!
I'm not saying the rumor is true. I'm saying that this is the wrong side to debunk that rumor.
The best way to find a trustworthy statement, is to get it from the one source that hates saying it most.
Like the Koch brothers' study showing that global warming exists.
Or in this case, the Russians.
Of course you still have to look out for traps, like wolves in sheep's clothing. But... you know what I mean.
This sounds strangely familiar..
That has to be the lamest debunking I've ever read. For those who don't follow the link, it's basically this:
Blog: "Hey, NASA, did you really refuse to help with the probe?"
NASA: "Huh? The what now? Oh, no, um, 'course not. But you're asking the wrong group at NASA. You want the Mars division."
Blog: "Oh, OK. So, Mars division, is it true you refused to help?"
Mars division: "Huh? Oh, um, no?"
Blog: "OK! Rumor debunked!"
It's less a debunking and more a "NASA PR is too incompetent to bother answering your question."
I suspect the real answer is "NASA refused to help, but not because of the Chinese probe, but because they're jingoistic assholes."
by Strong Bad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwZwkk7q25I
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
I notice your short-list of examples conveniently excludes ALL reasonably comparable nations with similar values, lifestyles, and economies.
From satellite orbit data posted at http://www.n2yo.com/?s=37872 I'm estimating it will re-enter in the first few days of January. Current decay rate is 1 km per day in average altitude from an orbit that is 215 km low x 310 km high points. This will double in about 14 days as it encounters thicker atmosphere, with doubling times cut in half each 20 km of height until it hits 120 km or so on it's last orbit. Since it has a large amount of fuel in tanks not protected by heat shields, it will a unique and spectacular "rapid disassembly" whenever reentry heating causes the tanks to fail. My best guess is around 80 km altitude.
Who can hack and re-purpose the probe before it reenters the atmosphere.
Only one rule;
1. The probe must escape earths gravity before reentry.
Let the fun begin!
It really would be nice to see samples come back. My guess is that the next real choice will be around 2018 by America with red dragon. I would not be the least bit surprised if we send a small probe to phobos and diemos to grab samples. IDEALLY, we would grab from mars surface as well.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Maybe it was never meant to reach Mars in its current form?
Send the craft up, make sure it stops at orbit. Then make modifications to it, hook it up with new fuel. Wait for a suitable window and launch it, send it on its merry way. Survey Phobos, survey Mars. Keep the results private.
Phobos-Grunt. Most cacophonous satellite name ever.
This is why we need to re-establish our new space crafts. We had them all set up to go and then....NO!! No funding for you. It would create jobs with the manufacturing, and best of all could create revenue with other countries paying us to shoot their stuff into space. Instead we have to rely on these yahoos to shoot it up for us...We're doomed.