The Mars Polar Lander during tests.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA
Mars Lander may be Alive
News story originally written on January 27, 2000
Just when everyone had given up hope, a faint signal was received at Stanford University. Scientists say it most likely came from Mars, although they won't know for sure until later this week. The signals came on December 18, and January 4, which are the two days the lander was told to send a signal to Earth.
Scientists say it is very unlikely that the Polar Lander could continue the mission, even if it is still alive. They are hoping the craft could at least give them some information about its landing. NASA is trying to find out what caused the disaster.
The concept of a living lander puzzled and surprised the entire Mars Polar Lander team.
You might also be interested in:
Scientists still don't know what caused the Mars Polar Lander to fail, but they aren't ruling out a deep canyon near the landing site. A recent article in the Post suggested scientists didn't know the
...more
It was another exciting and frustrating year for the space science program. It seemed that every step forward led to one backwards. Either way, NASA led the way to a great century of discovery. Unfortunately,
...more
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on October 29th at 2:19 p.m. EST. The weather was great as Discovery took 8 1/2 minutes to reach orbit. This was the United States' 123rd
...more
A moon was discovered orbiting the asteroid, Eugenia. This is only the second time in history that a satellite has been seen circling an asteroid. A special mirror allowed scientists to find the moon
...more
Will Russia ever put the service module for the International Space Station in space? NASA officials want an answer from the Russian government. The necessary service module is currently waiting to be
...more
A coronal mass ejection (CME) happened on the Sun early last month. The material that was thrown out from this explosion passed the ACE spacecraft. The SWICS instrument on ACE has produced a new and very
...more
J.S. Maini of the Canadian Forest Service called forests the "heart and lungs of the world." This is because forests filter air and water pollution, absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and maintain
...more
