The European Space Agency (ESA) said on November 24 that the European tracking station in Perth, Australia, received telemetry from a Russian Mars probe that has been stuck at a low-Earth orbit since-after its launch,
'ESA spokesman Rene Pischel said, "We have. again' established contact with the Phobo sGrunt spacecraft, We obtained telemetry reports, they are being analyzed by our colleagues from the Lavochkin Research and Production Association
He added that the communication session lasted for only six minutes and though the signal was . Grunt project chief scientist, clear, it is unlikely that. all the Alexander Zakharov of the Space required information was obtained,
The Mars probe was launched from the Baikonur Space Centre in Kaz akhstapon November 9. A Zenit carrier rocket put the spacecraft into an initi'al elliptical based orbit, but the probe failed to fire its engines to put it.on course for the Red Planet .. ,
All Russian attempts to establishcommunlcations with the spacecraft have peen unsuccessful.
The Perth station established first contact With Phobos-Grunt on November 22, but it was not ready tb receive the data from the spacecraft.
Experts believe that the Mars 'mission has failed as the last "window of opportunity" for sending the probe on course to Mars closed on November 21,. but obtaining telemetric data from the, spacecraft could help to find out the causes of the failure and make adjustments. tor . future interplanetary missions,
, The deputy head of the Phobos Research Institute, said the telemetry would show whether the spacecraft. could be "reanimated" and used in- another research mission.
He said' that if the spacecraft is fully operational, the best scientific mission for it would be to study a near-earth asteroid.
"A research of an asteroid is more reminiscent of our initial task than Moon research. The Phobos. itself is more like an asteroid and scientific equipment was. made for that purpose,".
.
Me.anwhile, the Hussian Feder~1 Space Agency .Roscosmos has already said it will focus 01'1 the Moon as its next step .in space research,
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