The first probe to successfully land on Mars may have been found by Russian space enthusiasts, using images from the NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), revealed NASA in a press statement dated 11th April. The Soviet probe, known as Mars 3, successfully reached the surface of the Red Planet on December 2nd, 1971, but functioned for less than 2 [...]
Post Tagged with: “Probe”
Status of Solar System Exploration
Ever lose track of what’s going on with all those exploratory missions roaming around the solar system? Here’s a graphical refresher of exploratory probes as of October 2012: Staff WritersMore Posts
Landing Position of Phobos-Grunt In Question
Initial calculations showed that Russia’s Phobos-Grunt probe, which reentered Earth atmosphere on January 15, reached the surface in the southern Pacific Ocean, near Wellington Island. However, the ocean landing was not witnessed and has since been called into quesiton. As RT reports in the video below, some Russian officials are indicating the probe might have landed in the Atlantic Ocean, [...]
Russian Phobos-Grunt Probe Crashes in Southern Pacific Ocean
The Russian Phobos-Grunt probe has reentered the atmosphere and crashed in the Pacific Ocean, 1250 km off the coast of Wellington Island. Roscosmos and USSTRACOM both announced the 1745 GMT reentry within minutes of each other. There have been no reports of injury or damage from the plumetting fragments and no known sightings of the reentry. Roscosmos has predicted [...]
Latest Phobos-Grunt Prediction for January 15 Reentry Near South America
According to a January 14 press release from Roscosmos, the agency now expects Phobos-Grunt to reenter Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday, January 15, most likely in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile. The reentry is likely to take place around 9:51 PM Moscow time, as reported by RussianSpaceWeb.com. Although the anticipated reentry date has remained fairly constant, the expected location of [...]
Roscosmos Hints at American Interference with Phobos Grunt
In a statement given to Russian newspaper Izvestia, Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin hinted that American interference could have caused the failure of the Phobos Grunt probe, now expected to reenter the atmosphere sometime this month. Although the statement made reference to the fact that the malfunction occurred while the probe was over North America and Western Europe, it carefully avoided [...]
The Phobos-Grunt Watch: Predicting Reentry
The Russian Mars moon probe Phobos-Grunt, which successfully launched on November 9, 2011 only to be subsequently stuck in Earth orbit, is due to reenter the atmosphere sometime this month. According to Roscosmos’ news release from January 6, the probe has a reentry window of January 10-January 21, with the highest likelihood for January 15. The probe’s landing site has only [...]
The Lost Phobos Grunt: An Overview
With the December 10 declaration by a senior Russian space official that officially pronounced the Phobos-Grunt lost, attention is being shifted to the probe’s inevitable atmospheric reentry. Below is a timeline of events from the launch of the probe to the December 10 announcement: November 9, 2011– The Phobos-Grunt is successfully launched atop a two-stage Zenit rocket from Site 45 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome [...]
Infographic: The Russian Phobos-Grunt Mars Probe Mission
The Phobos-Grunt probe launched by Roscosmos on November 9 and since plagued with technical difficulties was intended to procure samples from the surface of Mars moon Phobos. The infographic below describes the original mission. Source: SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration Staff WritersMore Posts
Atmospheric Reentry of Phobos-Grunt Probe Likely
Efforts to correct the orbit of the Phobos-Grunt probe, trapped in Earth orbit since the on-board boosters failed to fire on November 9, have been hampered by ongoing problems communicating with the spacecraft. There are growing concerns that the probe now represents a significant safety concern, as the 15-ton craft, along with 7 tons of toxic hydrazine fuel, could re-enter [...]
