Mars Pathfinder lander and rover operations were curtailed today when the lander downlink session, scheduled to begin at 1:20 p.m. PDT, was not initiated. The cause of the problem is currently unknown, said Mars Pathfinder Mission Manager Richard Cook.

The flight team, led by Flight Director Carl Steiner, subsequently reestablished communications with the lander and received a brief carrier blip at 3:30 p.m. PDT. Additional downlink sessions were not attempted, however, because of the lack of time before the Earth set over the landing site at 5:42 p.m. PDT.

Data on the health of the lander and rover, in addition to other engineering telemetry, will be acquired tomorrow. The flight team expects Sol 30 operations to proceed normally.

Additional information will be posted on the JPL home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov as it becomes available. An audio update is also available by calling 1-800-391.6654.

On this Martian day, Sol 29, Earthrise occurred at 4:09 a.m. PDT and sunrise followed at 7:11 a.m. PDT. The sun set over the landing site at 7:59 p.m. PDT.

For more information, please visit our website at http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov.