Sunday, December 4, 2011

Phobos--GRUNT Update

Phobos-GRUNT, the Russian attempt to bring a soil sample back to Earth from the Martian moon Phobos, seems on the verge of complete failure.

Laumched November 8, an upper stage rocket failed to fling it on to Mars, leaving the probe stranded in low Earth orbit. Radio contact with the probe has also been lost, and the launch window to reach Phobos has closed.

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