Russia has until early December to establish contact with the stranded Phobos-Grunt Mars probe and send it toward the Red Planet, the head of the Russian space ageny said Monday. Phobos-Grunt's mission was to pick up samples from the surface of Phobos, the largest moon of Mars, and return them to Earth in 2014. Credit: IKI Speaking to reporters after the launch of a three-man crew to the International Space Station, the chief of the space agency said Phobos-Grunt is in control of its flight and is maintaining its orientation toward the sun to generate electricity. But controllers have not communicated with the probe since it launched Nov. 8. Phobos-Grunt's main...
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