After two grueling months with no word from their loved ones , relatives of those on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will have to wait two more months before the search resumes underwater . The Bluefin-21 drone is completing its final mission in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday , marking the end of the underwater hunt -- for now . With no tangible evidence found by the drone , which costs an estimated $ 40,000 a day to operate , search officials are regrouping and preparing to deploy more high-tech equipment . Only a handful of companies have such devices , which will likely include towed sonar , an autonomous underwater vehicle with mounted sonar and optical imaging equipment , Australian officials said . Soliciting those companies and negotiating contracts will take time , and officials have said they want a single private contractor to lead the next stage of the search . That phase , which aims to scour 60,000 square kilometers , probably wo n't start for at least two months . The cost ? About $ 60 million . Uncharted territory . In the meantime , China is using a specialized ship to map the ocean floor in a remote part of the Indian Ocean -- something that 's never been done before . While the Bluefin-21 can provide greater resolution than deep-towed sonar devices , the drone could only go about 4.5 kilometers deep . It 's unclear how deep the water is in the expanded search area because `` it 's never been mapped , '' Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said earlier this month . China 's Zhu Kezhen ship will be joined by a contracted commercial survey vessel in June , the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said . While 26 countries have participated in the hunt for the missing plane , Malaysia , China and Australia have held high-level talks about the future of the search . Malaysia is where the the plane is from , China had more than 100 passengers on board , and Australia had six passengers on board and is close to the stretch of the Indian Ocean where searchers have focused their hunt . Australia has estimated the next phase of the search will cost $ 60 million , with the breakdown of exactly who 's going to pay for what yet to be determined . Satellite data released . With the underwater search on hiatus , analysts are combing through a 47-page document containing hundreds of lines of communication logs between the plane and the British company Inmarsat 's satellite system . Relatives of passengers have been clamoring for the release of satellite data for months . It was the satellite data , along with other information , that led officials to zero in on a search area in the southern Indian ocean . And some families suspect officials may be searching in the wrong spot . But the document released Tuesday does n't provide the whole picture . It 's `` intended to provide a readable summary of the data communication logs , '' notes at the beginning of the document say . Some passengers ' families , unsatisfied by the official explanation of the plane 's fate , say they want an independent analysis of the complex information -- a process that could take weeks . CNN safety analyst David Soucie said certain key elements , which would allow independent experts to fully test the official conclusion , are missing from the data in the document . `` There 's not enough information to say whether they made an error , '' he said . `` I think we 're still going to be looking for more . '' Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce acknowledged Tuesday that the company did n't release the model to which it applied the data to estimate the plane 's path -- and said the decision on whether to release the model lies with the Malaysian government , which is leading the search . `` We 'd be perfectly happy to put that model out , '' Pearce told CNN 's `` New Day . '' But Pearce also said the publicized data , along with engine and radar data , are enough for experienced third parties to plug into their own models and reach their own conclusions . Sarah Bajc , whose partner , Philip Wood , was on the missing jet , said she was `` annoyed '' that Inmarsat and Malaysian authorities had n't released everything they used to reach their conclusions . `` I see no reason for them to have massaged this before giving it to us , '' she said . Regardless of what information has been released , two pressing questions remain -- where is the plane , and what went wrong ? Is Inmarsat right ? Did Inmarsat data point Flight 370 searchers in wrong direction ?
The rescue drone wrapped up its final underwater mission Wednesday . Officials are trying to find a private contractor to lead the next stage of the search . That search will require more high - tech equipment , possibly in two months . Meanwhile , a Chinese ship is trying to map ocean floor .