The scientists of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) heaved a deep sigh of relief when the satellite radio that had stopped carrying signals and commands to the Mars Phoenix lander on Tuesday, restarted last night.

On Tuesday, the UHF radio on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite shut down, blocking communications between mission controllers and the Mars Phoenix lander. Thus, the Phoenix could not receive any new commands from Earth, which delayed digging of Mars by one day.

In a statement NASA said, the radio problems were short-lived and the UHF radio system has been restored. The cause of the glitch is undetermined, but during the radio silence, the lander carried out instructions that had been sent on Monday.

On its website NASA stated, the balky orbiter “successfully received information from the Phoenix lander and relayed the information to Earth. The relayed transmission included images and other data collected by Phoenix during the mission’s second day after landing on Mars.”

In a press conference, mission officials displayed startlingly clear photos taken by the orbiter of the lander on the Martian surface, its solar panels shining a brilliant bluish against the red soil. Other images showed the heat shield and parachute, along with the mark they made after crashing into the soil. A photograph from the lander showed the parachute and shield in the distance. The $420 million mission is led by University of Arizona, Tucson, and managed by JPL.