All Sol 79 uplink and downlink activities have been completed. Actually, the downlink ended about 45 minutes early today due to an unexpected drop in the downlink signal strength being detected on the ground. Troubleshooting here on Earth failed to reveal what the problem might be, but once contact is reacquired with the Pathfinder lander tomorrow evening, we hope to better determine what the problem might have been.

The Earth rose above the Martian landing site at 2 PM PDT, and the Sun shown on our Martian dwellers at 4:30 PM PDT today. Data was returned from Mars today using the Deep Space Network stations in Canberra, Australia. Up until the final drop in signal strength, telemetry indicates that everything continues to operate nominally on the surface of Mars, and both the Sagan Memorial Station and Sojourner rover continue to be in good health.

The rover wakeup song for Sol 79 was "Cashmere" by Led Zeppelin. The third time was truely the charm, as the rover was able to promptly position the APXS instrument onto the rock, Chimp. Composition data is currently being collected on this rock as the Sun is shining, and it will be sent down to the Earth tomorrow before the rover moves off to its next target.

The Pathfinder spacecraft went to sleep prior to the Martian sunset which occurs at 4:30 AM PDT Tuesday morning. The lander should awaken at its usual time at 8AM local solar or Martian time tomorrow, and downlink should be received here on around 9 AM PDT.

For more information, please visit our website at http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov. or call our Mission Status Report line at 1-800-391-6654.