The best hope is the satellite will be able to take pictures of the MPL's 20-metre long parachute, a big enough object to be picked out by the satellite's cameras.

BBC: Mars probe canyon crash theory

According to the UPI news agency, senior Nasa officials only realised the flaw in MPL's thrusters a few days before the landing was to take place on 3 December - when it was too late to do anything about it.

BBC: MPL Nasa

Nasa's efforts to locate MPL are continuing with cameras on board the orbiting probe Mars Global Surveyor scanning the planet's surface.

BBC: Mars probe canyon crash theory

On December 3rd 1999, a spacecraft called Mars Polar Lander (MPL) was supposed to touch down near the red planet's southern pole.

ECONOMIST: Has a missing Martian probe been spotted?

Nasa has reacted angrily to the allegation that it knew the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) mission would fail because of a design flaw in the craft's braking thrusters.

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