The news on Phobos-Grunt’s situation is not at all good I’m afraid.
The spacecraft malfunctioned after its launch on November the 8th. Its engines failed to ignite, stranding the probe in a somewhat unstable Earth orbit. Communication attempts with the probe have largely failed with only a few isolated contacts via the ESA’s tracking stations.
Attempts to reprogram the probes software in an effort to correct the issue have also failed.
Yesterday the ESA announced that their efforts to contact the stricken probe have been suspended. They did add that if the situation changes they will be more than happy to render assistance, though at the moment the horizon is looking bleak.
The window for reaching Phobos has already closed, though if the probe is salvaged it may be re purposed for a mission to an asteroid or comet. If not the probe will fall out of orbit and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere perhaps as early as mid-January, sending years of time, effort and $165 million up in smoke, not something anybody would like to see happening.
Not all hope has been lost for Phobos-Grunt but the light is fading fast …