The plight of two grapefruit-sized microprobes that hitched a ride on the lander and then deliberately plummeted to the Martian surface, striking it at 400 miles per hour, looked even gloomier than that of the lander. They have tiny, non-rechargeable batteries that could run out by Monday, officials said. The microprobes also have failed to respond to signals sent by the global surveyor. The microprobes blasted through the Martian atmosphere on Friday for a landing in the south polar region of the planet. The microprobes also were intended to compliment the lander in its search for water on Mars, seen as vital in determining whether the planet was ever capable of supporting life even in its most primitive forms.
Water also is an invaluable resource for any future manned exploration of the planet.
There were fears that America may have lost its second space mission to Mars in three months. The Mars Climate Orbiter, a satellite and the lander's sister ship, which was to have helped its exploration of the Red Planet by acting as a relay station from the Martian surface to Earth, was lost in September through human error when scientists mixed up English and metric measurements. I graduated with a degree in Electronics Engineering from Manhattan College in 1966. The job was not a high paying one when I compared it with the other salary offers I received. But what clinched it for me was the work.