Darmstadt - after numerous attempts has succeeded the European Space Agency ESA contact to the misguided Russian Mars Moon probe "Phobos-Grunt". "We have sent up a command, the probe has replied," an ESA spokesman said on Wednesday in Darmstadt. "Now is clear 'that 'Phobos-Grunt' still alive'."


It remains to be seen whether the to save circular space probe was for two weeks in orbit, said René Pischel, head of the Russian delegation to ESA: "the patient is though not dead, but he is as ill, we do not know yet." The signal contained no telemetry data. "We make a renewed attempt at coming night", so Pischel.

Geglückt, the contact is out on Tuesday evening from the ground station in the Western Australia Perth. "The angle of 'Phobos-Grunt' is from there conveniently", a spokeswoman in Moscow, "and the solar module of the spacecraft receives sufficient sunlight." said

Just a few hours before the Russian Space Agency had informed Russian Federal Space Agency in Moscow, that the 13.5 tonnes and 120 million euro expensive space probe "Phobos-grunt" as good as lost was and probably fall in the next few weeks on the ground. The US Canadian space surveillance command Narad was even assumed that the probe could crash on 26 November already.

After reaching orbit on 9 November, the engines of equivalent 125 million euro expensive "Phobos-Grunt" for the onward flight to the Martian moon of Phobos had not ignited. Since there was no contact more. The Russians had asked for help therefore the ESA.