PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
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http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Mars Pathfinder Mission Status
October 7, 1997
      The Mars Pathfinder operations team reestablished communications with the lander today, on Sol 92 of the mission, after four days of silence from the spacecraft. The team received a transmission from the spacecraft's main transmitter. The signal was detected using the Madrid, Spain 34-meter antenna.

      No data was received, but receipt of a spacecraft signal indicates that the lander is operational and the battery is off- line. Meanwhile, the rover, which is programmed to begin a contingency sequence when it has not heard from the lander for five days, started that activity on Sol 90. In this mode of operation, the rover is instructed to return to the lander and begin circling it.

      The Mars Pathfinder operations team will repeat commands tomorrow night, on Sol 93, to verify two-way communications with the lander's main transmitter and attempt to return engineering data on the health of the lander and rover. If successful, that information would be returned the following day, on Sol 94 of the mission.

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