NASA Poised to Give Up Listening for Mars Polar Lander

Posted by jburk to Mars Polar Lander at January 6, 2000 12:00 PM

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will make one final attempt to hear from the Mars Polar Lander over the next two weeks before declaring the $165-million spacecraft officially lost. JPL started sending commands to the robotic spacecraft Thursday to use its UHF antenna to contact the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. The Surveyor satellite will then cock its robotic ear and listen for the lander for 11 days, or until Jan. 17.