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    No Hope For the Russian Space Probe

    By Stan Schroeder | Mashable – Sun, Dec 4, 2011

    The European Space Agency has given up on efforts to revive Fobos-Grunt, the Russian space probe which was slated to visit the Martian moon Phobos, but got stuck in Earth's orbit shortly after launch.

    The unmanned probe was launched on Nov 9, 2011, with a mission to take soil samples from the Martian moon and fly them to Earth. All efforts from the ESA to send the probe commands which could send it to the next stage of its mission have been unsuccessful, however, and now the ESA has announced it will not be making further attempts to contact the probe.

    [More from Mashable: NASA Mars Rover Ready for Liftoff [VIDEO]]

    “In consultation and agreement with Phobos-Grunt mission managers, ESA engineers will end tracking support. Efforts to send commands to and receive data from the Russian Mars mission via ESA ground stations have not succeeded; no response has been seen from the satellite. ESA teams remain available to assist the Phobos-Grunt mission if indicated by any change in the situation,” said ESA in an official statement.

    This likely won't be the last we hear of the 13.2-ton spacecraft, as scientists expect it to fall back to Earth sometime in January. Most of its weight consists of highly toxic hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide fuel which, according to NASA veteran James Oberg, makes the probe the "most toxic falling satellite ever."

    [More from Mashable: NASA to Send a Car-Sized Rover to Mars Nov. 25]

    If the fuel has frozen in space, some of it could survive the fall to Earth, but if it's liquid, it will probably burn away - along with the rest of the probe - when re-entering the atmosphere, experts say.

    This story originally published on Mashable here.

     

    20 comments

    • WaitingForTheElectrician
      WaitingForTheElectrician  •  Houston, United States  •  5 mths ago
      I hope the hydrazine doesnt dump over me....
    • Don
      Don  •  5 mths ago
      Well. it looks like Grunt shot craps.
    • Terraformers 3
      Terraformers 3  •  5 mths ago
      Isn't it easier to just land some Cosmonauts and Astronauts in order to imbed a cryogen-free Superconducting Magnet into the heart of the Moon?! The Moon needs some serious open heart surgery to get it ticking again. And Mars needs a geodynamo to get its pulse up and running--atmospheres dot 5u.
    • Terraformers 3
      Terraformers 3  •  5 mths ago
      Can't these 500 Astronauts and Cosmonauts do anything right?! We're asking them to TERRAFORM the Moon and Mars, NOT shuttle back and forth to the ISS. They're just spinning their wheels on rides that go nowhere.
    • Masai
      Masai  •  5 mths ago
      Just as a precaution, from now on I will start walking in zigzags.
    • Phil B
      Phil B  •  Everett, United States  •  5 mths ago
      More reason to have maintaned the Shuttle program. With additional fuel cells the shuttle could take Russians to repair, retreive or place it in a higher fixed orbit. Why do we send Americans to the Space Station when we cannot support it and need Russian space flights to transport crews. May as well shut down NASA and save billions of dollars.
    • j B
      j B  •  5 mths ago
      This is days old news. ESA made this announcement on December 2nd.
    • Snake
      Snake  •  Sterling-Heights, United States  •  5 mths ago
      U.S. should use a shuttle and bring it to earth and sell it to Russia!
      • Cecil
        Cecil 5 mths ago
        Yeah but we don't have shuttles anymore.
      • Cecil
        Cecil 5 mths ago
        When that fuel ignites on reentry, if the rocket is pointed this way it could shoot like a missle straight into the ground.
    • Otto Pilot
      Otto Pilot  •  San Antonio, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Ah yes, money well spent.
    • JR
      JR  •  New York, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Two monkeys with a torque wrench could build a better space probe.

      "In Soviet Russia, space probes you."
    • Brandon
      Brandon  •  5 mths ago
      I'm remembering the line from the Russian guy in "Armageddon" - "Russian parts, American parts - all made in Taiwan!"
      • Terraformers 3
        Terraformers 3 5 mths ago
        It failed, so obviously it WASN'T made in Taiwan.
    • Drew
      Drew  •  Huntsville, United States  •  5 mths ago
      It's just a matter of time until all of this falling 'spacejunk' kills.
    • Pustic
      Pustic  •  5 mths ago
      There's no hope for the Russian Space Probe, and yet we trust Russia with our astronauts going to and from the ISS. Now what could possibly go wrong with that?
      • William
        William 5 mths ago
        Logic has never been your strong point, has it?
      • Cecil
        Cecil 5 mths ago
        They have had several rocket failures in a row. You couldn't pay me to ride one of them.
      • Scott
        Scott 5 mths ago
        lol, William.
        Pustic, It's kind of like saying the Ford Escort is unreliable so I'm not going to ride in a Chrysler 300.
        We have more than our fair share of problem launches with unmanned rockets too. These are not the same ones used to carry people. Even if the same series of rocket is used, the failure in this case was the payload (happens to us too).
    • w
      w  •  5 mths ago
      those that can,,, are LEAVING,,,
      headline,,, "Russians are leaving the country in droves"
      "Some chafe at life under Vladimir Putin's rule, but for many others, economic limitations are the prime motivator. Experts say the numbers have reached demographically dangerous levels."
      • mikem
        mikem 5 mths ago
        Ye I can see the same headline for here if the crony capitalists get back in office anytime soon theocratic state creating an even wider gap between the haves and have nots has almost ruined this country.
      • Keith D
        Keith D 5 mths ago
        What has this got to do with the space probe? Stick to the topic.
      • Terraformers 3
        Terraformers 3 5 mths ago
        Yup, they're all here on the entitlements rag, living off of Section 8 housing.
    • glee
      glee  •  San Luis Obispo, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Hope it hits the Capitol
      bldg
    • Tom
      Tom  •  Akron, United States  •  5 mths ago
      it's russian who cares ?
    • w
      w  •  5 mths ago
      with any luck,,,
      the Russian Space Probe will land on poopin,,,
    • truck9m00n
      truck9m00n  •  Stroudsburg, United States  •  5 mths ago
      hope it does'nt hit my house.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  5 mths ago
      Yet another "palm face" for Russia.
    • w
      w  •  5 mths ago
      "No Hope For the Russian Space Probe"
      "No Hope For the Russian Poopin"
     Post a comment
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