A misdirected Mars probe happened to give him the means to return to Bloom County, where he set about looking for his old friends.

The Mars probe would carry a crew of four to five cosmonauts, who would spend close to two years in space.

Russia's space agency (Roscosmos) says its unsuccessful Mars probe will fall back to Earth next month.

"This one," he said, "was taken by automatic cameras in the successful Mars probe of last year."

The Viking 1 Mars probe contained such a device but did not find any conclusive signs of life.

Suddenly we are transported to outer space, a slightly discouraging journey considering the recent failure of the latest Mars probe.

Rocks everywhere you looked, though this spot wasn't as stony as the places where previous Mars probes had landed.

China attempted to send a Mars probe (Yinguo 1) in 2011 on a mission with Russia which failed.

And later confirmed in the initial Mars probes and landings.

On 10 March 2004, the song was used to wake the Mars probe Opportunity.