CEDAR NOTCH, Colorado (CNM) -- Flight controllers at the National Space Exploration Office sent dozens of commands Saturday to the Martian Polar Prober, which was scheduled to land near the planet's south pole Friday afternoon. None has been answered.
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| An artist's rendering of the Martian Polar Prober |
"We are not giving up," said mission manager Dr. Constance Yee. "Mars is 150 million miles away. Sometimes the mail is slow."
The $165 million spacecraft was designed to dig for water ice using a robotic arm. Engineers say it may have landed safely but with its antenna pointed the wrong way, or may have had a harder landing than planned.
Scientists will continue listening through the end of the month, including from a radio dish in the Marisol Islands, whose government has offered "the first antenna of the new millennium."
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