10-MAR-98 8:30 AM PST

Today starting at 10:00 AM PST we will make our final attempt to contact Pathfinder.
Until 1:30 PM we will update this page every 15 minutes with any new information. ( Reload page for latest information )

10:15 AM - The high efficiency 34 meter Deep Space Network (DSN Station #15) antenna located in Goldstone California is currently attempting to lock onto a carrier signal using a Block 5 receiver. Mars is currently 2.35 Astronomical Units (AU), or 351 million kilometers away from Earth. The one way light time is 19.8 minutes. The first command will be sent at 10:51 AM PST

10:39 AM - At 10:51 AM PST we will send a command to Pathfinder to activate an onboard sequence designed to turn on the primary Pathfinder transmitter. Since the one way light time is 19.8 minutes, we will have to wait for approximately 40 minutes before we can expect a response from Pathfinder, assuming the command was received and the sequence activated.

10:53 AM - The command to activate the onboard sequence is now being radiated to Pathfinder.

11:22 AM - We are now waiting to receive the signal. Mars is currently 49.2 degrees above the horizon at the Goldstone DSN station located in the Mojave desert in southern California.

11:35 AM - We should have heard the signal by now, but we have not. We will sweep for the carrier for 50 minutes.

12:10 PM - During the 50 minute sweep period we are also sending out the command to turn on the primary transmitter on Pathfinder. At the end of the 50 minute period we will wait for a response from Pathfinder.

12:25 PM - The 50 minute sweep is over. We will now wait for 40 more minutes for a signal from Pathfinder, since this is the approximate two way light time.

1:20 PM - The 40 minute wait period is over and we have not heard anything.

1:30 PM - The DSN track is over. The signal never appeared on our screens.

The following are the signals that never appeared on our monitors as they did on July 4, 1997

1:57 PM - The final attempt at contacting Pathfinder has not been successful. In the press conference currently taking place, the Pathfinder spacecraft has officially been declared dead, with the time of death being 1:21 PM Pacific Standard Time on March 10, 1998.

The entire Pathfinder team would like to thank the world for their interest in our mission. Although contact with Pathfinder has officially been lost, the Pathfinder team will continue analyzing the data and making it available over the coming months. As of today, Pathfinder raw images and MET raw data are now available at the following URL:

http://www-pdsimage.jpl.nasa.gov/PDS/public/MPF/frontpage.html

Access to the APXS (Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer) data will be added as soon as possible.