Russia’s unmanned spacecraft was headed for Mars’ moons, but its engines failed to put it on course for the Red Planet. Scientists have been trying to communicate with the probe for days, but without any response.

The Russian spacecraft became stuck in the Earth’s orbit due to a serious propulsion glitch. Yinghuo-1, China’s first interplanetary spacecraft, had hitched a ride when Phobos-Grunt lifted off on Nov, 9th in Kazakhstan.

Yinghuo-1 was on a mission to analyze Mar’s magnetic environment and upper atmosphere. The Russian spacecraft weighs more than 14 tons and much of the weight is the highly toxic hydrazine fuel. Scientists are concerned that this fuel, as well as parts of the probe, could be dangerous if the spacecraft ends up crashing to Earth in early next year.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)