How the Mars probe fell to Earth: Infographic
Russia launched an ambitious Mars moon probe, the Phobos-Grunt mission, on a mission to collect the first samples of the Martian moon Phobos, but the spacecraft was soon marooned in Earth orbit. The graphic explains how Phobos-Grunt probe eventually fell to Earth.
Thu, Jan 26 2012 at 3:02 PM EST
The failed Russian Mars probe came crashing back to Earth on Jan. 15, plunging into Pacific Ocean, according to Russian news reports.
After languishing in Earth orbit for more than two months, the 14.5-ton spacecraft fell at around 12:45 p.m. EST, slamming into the atmosphere over a stretch of the southern Pacific off the coast of Chile, Russian officials told the Ria Novosti news agency.
This graphic created by Karl Tate originally appeared on SPACE.com and is reprinted here with permission.
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