Signals revive hope for Mars lander

Posted by jburk to Mars Polar Lander at January 25, 2000 12:00 PM

NASA says it is transmitting new commands toward Mars amid indications that its Polar Lander spacecraft has been weakly trying to phone home. Mission managers say the radio signals, received twice in last two months, are so faint that it’s taken weeks to make them out, and they caution that their expectations are low. Nevertheless, the development has revived hopes for the luckless lander.