SPACE.com -- Final Attempts to Contact Two Mute Spacecraft, CONTOUR and NEAR


	Final Attempts to Contact Two Mute Spacecraft, CONTOUR and NEAR By Leonard David Senior Space Writer posted: 09:31 am ET 10 December 2002

Signals from Spacecraft: Sounds of Silence

"Do you feel lucky?"

Clint Eastwood's question would be appropriate for space scientists at the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, hoping to hear signals from two spacecraft, one lost in space and the other whose mission was over long ago.

First, NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) is turning up the volume on today in an effort to detect a peep from the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft sitting atop asteroid Eros.

NEAR Shoemaker, as the spacecraft was called, was powered off in late February 2001, after completing a spectacular one-year mission of orbiting the space rock, then gently coming to rest on the mini-world. The robot has experienced super-cold temperatures over time, but engineers wonder if they can stir NEAR to life in a test of its electronic fortitude.

"Although NEAR Shoemaker has surprised us many time before, I think the little lady has completed her dance," Helen Worth, an APL spokesperson told SPACE.com. APL ran the highly successful mission for NASA.

Then there's the case of the lost-to-space Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) probe. It is literally missing in action after its engine likely misfired on Aug. 15 of this year. It has not been heard from since.

A final concentrated effort by a DSN radio dish will be implemented Dec. 17 and Dec. 20 when the CONTOUR's antennas are in a more favorable orientation for Earth contact, said APL spokeman Michael Buckley.

In both attempts, the chances of hearing anything from are very slim, APL officials admit.

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