ESA Contact With Phobos-Grunt – Off and On and Off

ESA station unable to establish new link with Phobos-Grunt
“After establishing contact with Russia’s Phobos-Grunt Mars mission earlier this week, ESA’s tracking station in Australia received no signal from the spacecraft last night. ESA engineers are investigating the cause in close collaboration with Russian mission controllers. Despite listening intently during four scheduled communication passes during the night of 24-25 November, ESA’s 15 m-diameter dish antenna at Perth, Australia, did not receive any signals.”
ESA station keeps contact with Russian Mars mission Phobos-Grunt, ESA
“Following the first successful contact on Tuesday, ESA’s tracking station in Australia again established two-way communication with Russia’s Phobos-Grunt spacecraft on 23 November. The data received from the spacecraft have been sent to the Russian mission control centre for analysis. Telemetry typically includes information on the status and health of a spacecraft’s systems. “The signals received from Phobos-Grunt were much stronger than those initially received on 22 November, in part due to having better knowledge of the spacecraft’s orbital position.”
ESA tracking station receives signal from Russia’s Phobos Mars mission, ESA
“On Tuesday, 22 November at 20:25 UT, ESA’s tracking station at Perth, Australia, established contact with Russia’s Phobos-Grunt spacecraft. This was the first signal received on Earth since the Mars mission was launched on 8 November. ESA teams are working closely with engineers in Russia to determine how best to maintain communications with the spacecraft.”