TUCSON, Ariz. - A spokeswoman for the Phoenix Mars Lander mission says a hacker took over the mission’s public Web site during the night and changed its lead news story.

Spokeswoman Sara Hammond says a mission update posted Friday was replaced with a hacker’s signature and a link redirecting visitors to an overseas Web site.

Hammond says the site hosted by the University of Arizona has been taken off line while computer experts work to correct the problem.

The Mars Lander vehicle touched down on the Red Planet last Sunday to search for traces of organic compounds that are the basic building blocks of life.

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On the Net:

Phoenix Mars: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/