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Russia

Phobos-Grunt Prepares To Return Home

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
January 9, 2012
Filed under , ,

Underfunding doomed Russian Mars probe, lawyer says, USA Today
“Russia’s Phobos-Grunt (“grunt” is Russian for ground or soil) mission aimed for a first landing of a probe on the Martian moon Phobos. Launched Nov. 8, the spacecraft reached Earth orbit but failed to fire the rocket that would send it on an eight-month interplanetary trip to Mars. It’s likely to fall to Earth around Jan. 15, the Russian Defense Ministry concluded, the victim of a steadily dropping orbit. “Way too ambitious and way too underfunded to reach its goal,” space law attorney Michael Listner says.”
Russia’s Phobos-Grunt probe heads for fiery finale, USA Today
“… the 29,100-pound spacecraft, stuffed with 8.3 tons of hydrazine fuel, will likely come down around Jan. 15, the Russian Defense Ministry has concluded.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

One response to “Phobos-Grunt Prepares To Return Home”

  1. DTARS says:
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    A while back I said wouldn’t it be nice if someone on ISS could hop in a spaceship and go get that sucker. Many jumped all over me lol. Well let me be clearer I wish we had a presence in space maybe robotic or had stations near where we had the capability to get that sucker and save it before it’s gone. Sad to have lost that mission. It sure looked like a cool one to me.