<So is ASI/NASA Marconi Telecommunications Orbiter also dead?

It depends. Almost everyone I speak to, especially direct participants at JPL on the U.S. side of the Atlantic, feels that ASI (for funding reasons) will not be able to participate in the Marconi mission, which would have also carried some science instruments, including a camera system for Mars monitoring and testing of sample rendezvous and capture techniques in highly elliptical orbit. The conventional wisdom is that the U.S. will go it alone and fly a 2009 Mars Telesat mission, which is required for the types of surface missions such as MSL and other long range rovers / sample return landers. That said, two weeks ago I spoke with an engineer at Alenia Spazio who is still working on Marconi. He feels that the mission "is still alive," but then again, as recently as a couple of months ago a few CNES scientists on the NetLander team I spoke to felt that their mission would fly. The key is ASI, more specifically, its director, Sergio Vitrella. He surpised me by coming up with funding for SHARAD, the ASI-supplied radar sounder for 2005 MRO. Note, however, that unlike with France, relations between the U.S. and Italy are excellent.