NASA will attempt to locate the silent MGS this week by using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRC). Photos taken by MRC could be of help in finding out what's wrong with the troubled probe and perhaps take corrective steps.

    MGS was last heard from on Nov. 5 after reporting earlier that it had problems with a solar panel. Since then, repeat tries at resuming contact with MGS using the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Deep Space Network of powerful radio dishes have not produced results.

    "Right now we don't have a great estimate on exactly where MGS is since it has been out of contact for a while," said Wayne Sidney, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Flight Engineering Team Lead for Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

    MGS might be in a self-generated safe mode, said Sidney. By extrapolating from the last known position of MGS, experts hope to deduce the coordinates for where the craft should be as it spins around Mars.

    Even if located, it won't be easy for MRO to hone in on MGS for a series of photos. Sidney said there is a plus or minus 45-second window of error in catching a glimpse of MGS.

    The plan decided on calls for using MRO's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on Wednesday to take a long-exposure shot. If MSG shows up in the photo the HiRISE camera will be put into play Friday for more precise high-resolution photos.

    "So it's two steps back to back," explained Sidney. "It has been a scramble to try and figure out how to do it. It's going to take a lot of push ups to get it done this week, but I think everybody involved is actually pretty excited about it. Most of us worked both [MGS and MRO] programs."

    When MGS was launched in November 1996 its original mission was to examine Mars for a full Martian year, roughly two Earth years. Once that period elapsed, NASA extended the mission repeatedly, most recently on Oct. 1 of this year.

    It's important to realize that MGS was on its third extended mission, said Sidney. And through all the years of scanning Mars, he added, MGS also supported the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's lengthy aerobraking at the planet by watching for martian dust storms that influence the planet's upper atmosphere.

    There's a premonition that maybe the venerable MGS felt it was time to sign off.

    The same day that MRO cranked up its primary science tasks -- Nov. 7 -- was the 10th anniversary of MGS in space..

    "It really seems like there's some fate involved in this," Sidney said. "MGS knew it was time to retire."

    (Agencies)