Update | Rain hampers hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines plane as Nasa joins the search

Rain was expected to hamper the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on Monday as search teams headed out at first light into an expanded are of the Indian Ocean.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's rescue coordination centre said the search area had been expanded from 59,000 to 68,500 square kilometres, including a new separate area following radar information provided by France yesterday.

Nasa said its scientific satellites were also being used to scour the ocean for objects and that it was trawling through archive data in an effort to spot any clues as to the plane's whereabouts.

Australian Transport Minister Warren Truss said early on Monday that “nothing of note” was found Sunday, which he described as a “fruitless day".

“It’s going to be a challenge, but we’ll stick at it,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio before the first aircraft left Perth at dawn.

“We’re just, I guess, clutching at whatever little piece of information comes along to try and find a place where we might be able to concentrate the efforts,” he added.