* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Phobos-Grunt Mission

Blobrana · L

Contact Restored with Russia's Lost Mars Moon Mission

Scientists have picked up a signal from Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, the European Space Agency said Wednesday.
The ESA reported that its tracking station in Perth, Australia, established contact with Phobos-Grunt on Tuesday at 20.25 UT.
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Blobrana · L

PHOBOS-GRUNT
1 37872U 11065A   11327.55989409  .00162920  11474-4  17081-3 0   557
2 37872 051.4269 282.2609 0079319 097.7720 263.2312 16.03448206  2360

Period:       89.83 minutes
Inclination: 51.43°
Apogee:     320 km
Perigee:     212 km

Blobrana · L

Stranded Russian Mars probe sends signal to earth

Contact has finally been made with Russia's troubled Mars mission, says the European Space Agency (Esa).
The agency reports that its tracking station in Perth, Australia, picked up a signal from the Phobos-Grunt probe.
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Blobrana · L

ESA tracking station establishes contact with Russia's Phobos Mars mission

On Tuesday, 22 November at 20:25 UT, ESA's tracking station at Perth, Australia, established contact with Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft. This was the first signal received on Earth since the Mars mission was launched on 8 November. ESA teams are working closely with engineers in Russia to determine how best to maintain communication with the spacecraft.
Source

Blobrana · L

Little hope for stuck Phobos Grunt probe

The Russian space agency has conceded there is now little chance of reviving its Mars mission, Phobos-Grunt.
The probe has been stuck circling the Earth since its launch on 9 November, unable to fire the engine that would take it on to the Red Planet.
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Blobrana · L

Russian experts baffled by probe's erratic behaviour

Russian Federal Space Agency experts are puzzled by the rising orbit of the Phobos-Grunt unmanned Mars probe, Roscosmos deputy head Vitaly Davydov said on Tuesday.
He suggested that the spacecraft's control system might still be functional or there could have been a fuel leak, causing its orbit to rise.
A Russian expert earlier said one reason for the spacecraft's unexpected behaviour could be the aerodynamic resistance of its solar batteries acting as wings and pushing it up.
According to another industry expert, Phobos-Grunt will not fall to Earth until mid-March because of its rising orbit.
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Blobrana · L

PHOBOS-GRUNT
1 37872U 11065A   11326.25097676  .00124972  11464-4  13406-3 0   505
2 37872 051.4279 289.3120 0081279 092.3948 268.6371 16.02932765  2156

Period:       89.87 minutes
Inclination: 51.43°
Apogee:     323 km
Perigee:     212 km

Blobrana · L

PHOBOS-GRUNT
1 37872U 11065A   11322.75889401  .00050135  11450-4  55746-4 0   396
2 37872 051.4249 308.1004 0085876 073.4366 287.5906 16.02313251  1599

Period:       89.87 minutes
Inclination: 51.43°
Apogee:     326 km
Perigee:     210 km

Blobrana · L

The plan was to have the probe, called Phobos Grunt, begin its journey in low Earth orbit before setting off towards Mars.
That's where the plan has gone awry. Phobos Grunt is stuck in low Earth orbit and the rockets designed to send it on its way haven't fired.
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