Data beamed from Russia Mars probe 'deciphered'
"Some data" on the spacecraft's condition were obtained, but it was not yet clear how "functional" it was, the source said.
According to RIA Novosti, earlier in the day, a Russian space station in Kazakhstan's Baikonur received a signal from the Phobos-Grunt, which has been stuck at a low-Earth orbit since after its launch.
The Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said attempts to get in contact with the spacecraft would continue until it enters "the thicker layers of the atmosphere."
Phobos-Grunt is expected to fall to Earth sometime in March.
Telemetry data received from the probe on Wednesday night by the European Space Agency (ESA) was impossible to decipher.
The fact of the data transmission demonstrated that the unit is "alive" and powered but it is impossible to say anything about the status of the onboard control system, experts said.
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