Japan Poised To Abandon Martian Probe Mission

Posted by tourdemars to Nozomi at December 8, 2003 12:00 PM

Japan's trouble-plagued first mission to Mars is set to be abandoned in the latest of a series of costly failures to hit the country's space development programme, news reports and officials said Monday. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will make a final attempt on Tuesday to remotely repair electronic circuitry on the Nozomi probe damaged by a solar flare last year, which caused the main engine to shut down, officials said.