Mars. Photo: NASA/JPL

Initial analysis of data taken on Tuesday by radio telescopes in the Netherlands and Italy has shown no obvious signal from Mars Polar Lander, but exhaustive review of the data is continuing with a final report due next week.

Analysis of data taken at Stanford University in California is ongoing with no signal detected so far. A telescope at Jodrell Bank in the United Kingdom was not able to collect any data due to high winds at that facility.

"Our plan for the next week is to temporarily end active efforts to listen for a signal," said Richard Cook, project manager for Mars Polar Lander at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We are evaluating several scenarios for future listening attempts that could take place at the end of this month." Mission managers are also reviewing information about the Mars relay link between Mars Global Surveyor and the lander.

Mars Polar Lander is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Lockheed Martin Astronautics Inc., Denver, Colo., is the agency's industrial partner for development and operation of the spacecraft. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.