The World - News from March 30, 1989

The Soviet Union struggled to salvage its surviving Martian probe Phobos 2 and set up a scientific commission to try to find ways to re-establish radio contact with the prized spacecraft. The unmanned Phobos 2, which entered Mars’ orbit in January, was only several weeks away from dropping a soft lander on the largest of the two tiny Martian moons, Phobos, when radio contact was suddenly lost Monday. The communications break raised fears that Phobos 2 would be lost like its sister probe, which died in September only 60 days into its journey. A computer error turned off that craft’s solar power source.