the Mars Pathfinder may have lost its way on the red planet. Scientists at the us National Aeronautics and Space Administration's ( nasa 's) Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( jpl ) at Pasadena, California, have virtually given up hope of reviving the probe. Both the Pathfinder lander and its 10-kg rover, the Sojourner, have been mired in technical problems for the last two months. But scientists are not disappointed by this. They point out that the mission survived thrice longer than the 30 days it was expected to go on, after it made a much publicised landing on July 4.

The last that was heard from the rover was on October 7. Freezing in the -50