ESA picks up signal from Russia's stranded Mars probe
23 Nov 2011
The European Space Agency (Esa) has said that contact has finally been made with Russia's stranded Mars probe, the Phobos-Grunt. The European Space Agency said on its website today that its tracking station in Perth, Australia, had received a signal from the craft at 2025 GMT on Tuesday.
"ESA teams are working closely with engineers in Russia to determine how best to maintain communication with the spacecraft," the agency said, promising news updates.
The Martian probe Phobos-Grunt has been stranded in an Earth orbit for the last 14 days ever since its launch on 9 November unable to respond to commands from Earth.
Esa's capture of its signal is the first from the probe since its launch.
The European Space Operations Centre (Esoc) in Darmstadt said some modifications had been to the 15m dish facility in Perth to improve its chances of getting a signal.
After getting into orbit around our planet the probes two engines failed to fire. The probe was to make its way to Mars and the Martian moon Phobos.
