Updated Space Probe Dies Slow Death

[LPH]

Parts of the unmanned Phobos Ground is expected to crash somewhere in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar. Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the Phobos-Ground will crash between 1750 and 1834 GMT (1:50 p.m. and 24 p.m. EST).

The Mars Moon probe was successfully launched November 8, 2011 but became stuck in Earth's orbit. Scientists were unable to send commands that could propel the probe toward the Mars moon Phobos.

According to AP:

The unmanned Phobos-Ground is one of the heaviest and most toxic space derelicts ever to crash to Earth, but space officials and experts say the risks are minimal as its orbit is mostly over water and most of the probe's structure will burn up in the atmosphere anyway.

Instruments on the vehicle include radioactive metal Cobalt-57. The radioactive cobalt isotope has a calculated half-life of 271.79 days.

The craft weighs 14.9 tons. Previous crashes have been from heavier crafts. For example, the NASA Skylab weighed 85 tons at the time of loss of orbit and Russia's Mir space station weighed over 143 tons.

Update: The Russia's Defense Ministry said the fragments fell Sunday 1,250 kilometers (775 miles) west of Wellington Island (near Chile).

Update: It turns out the location was based on calculations and not observations. The agency is not able to find the crash site.

News agencies had cited Defense Ministry spokesman Alexei Zolotukhin as saying Sunday that fragments of the craft fell in the Pacific Ocean off Chile's coast. But Zolotukhin told The Associated Press Monday that estimate was based on calculations, and no witness reports had been received.

The deputy head of Russia's space agency, Anatoly Shilov, told state news channel Vesti that agency data assumed the craft broke up somewhere over Brazil.

 

[Robert Heiny]

Thanks for the update!

 

[LPH]

As of Monday, the crash site is still unknown.

 

[Robert Heiny]

Now the search! I wonder which country claims that part of the ocean as part of their territory? Or, maybe it will be like the guy who lost his keys down the block, but looked for them under the lamp, because he could see there?