spacetoday.net: Communications lost with Mars Global Surveyor

Posted: Fri, Nov 10, 2006, 8:15 PM ET (0115 GMT)

NASA has struggled to reestablish communications with the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft over the last week, apparently because of technical problems with the spacecraft that have yet to be resolved. Ground controllers first noticed a problem with a motor that drives one of the spacecraft's solar arrays on November 2. Communications were lost on November 3 and 4, and only a weak carrier signal was heard on November 5, the last day signals were received from the spacecraft. Engineers speculate that a problem developed with the solar array motor that may be reducing the spacecraft's power output and/or causing the high-gain antenna to point away from the Earth. If contract with MGS isn't restored this weekend, NASA plans to have another spacecraft, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, take images of the spacecraft when it passes within about 100 km of MGS next week. Tuesday marked the tenth anniversary of the launch of MGS, one of three NASA spacecraft currently in operation around Mars.