An artist's concept of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft nearing the Martian moon Phobos, something the failed probe never got to do.
The Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR in Wachtberg, Germany has produced this image of Phobos-Grunt, created with the TIRA space observation radar. One can clearly see the extended solar panels (center) and the tank ring (bottom).
The failed Russian mission to one of Mars' small moons was captured by Thierry Legault and Emmanuel Rietsch (http://legault.perso.sfr.fr) on video, New Year's Day 2012.
Failed Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt, trapped in Earth orbit since launch, is expected to re-enter the atmosphere in January, 2012.
The failed Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt is predicted to crash back to Earth between Jan. 14 and Jan. 16, 2012. The spacecraft will fall somewhere between 51.4 degrees north latitude and 51.4 degrees south latitude, as shown in the diagram.
Astrophotographer Ralf Vandebergh took this image of Russia's Phobos-Grunt probe on Dec. 28, 2011, as the troubled spacecraft flew over Europe.
The Planetary Society's Phobos LIFE biomodule is carried within the Phobos-Grunt’s re-entry capsule. Shown here is a test model used to fabricate the final LIFE hardware.
A Zenit rocket launches into space carrying Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft toward Mars on a mission to collect samples of the Martian moon Phobos. Liftoff occured on Nov. 9, 2011 Local Time from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (Nov. 8 EST).
Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft sits atop its Zenit rocket just minutes before blasting off on Nov. 8, 2011.
The Zenit 2SB rocket carrying Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft bound for Mars is raised into position for a planned Nov. 8, 2011 (EST) launch. The mission is aimed at retrieving samples of Phobos to scientists on Earth.
Mars' largest moon Phobos, as seen during a recent flyby performed by the European spacecraft Mars Express.
This is a full-scale mockup of Russia's Phobos-Grunt. The spacecraft will collect samples of soil on Mar's moon Phobos and to bring the samples back to Earth for detailed study.
This image shows Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft prior to its delivery for its planned Nov. 2011 launch toward to the Mars. The ambtious Russian mission aims to land a probe on Mars' moon Phobos, retrieve samples and return them to Earth.
This Russian-language infographic from Russia's Federal Space Agency depicts the different phases of flight, landing, sample gathering and return for Russia's Phobos-Grunt mission to the Mars moon Phobos launching in Nov. 2011.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
The ESA spacecraft Mars Express took this image of Phobos on March 7, 2010. This image has been enhanced for seeing features in the less-illuminated part of the moon.
The ESA spacecraft Mars Express took this new image of the Phobos-Grunt landing area on March 7, 2010. The insert marks the proposed landing region and sites for Phobos-Grunt.
Russia's Phobos-Grunt is designed to land on Mars' moon Phobos, collect soil samples and return them to Earth for study. The lander will also carry scientific instrumetns to study Phobos and its environment. It will travel to Mars together with Yinghuo-1, China's first mission to the Red Planet.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
On Flight Day #4, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2 is transferred from space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay for installation on the station's starboard truss.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft sits atop its Zenit-2SB rocket on the pad in Kazakhstan, ready for its Nov. 8, 2011 launch toward the Martian moon Phobos.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
In this picture, seven close-up views of Phobos, taken by the Super Resolution Channel on the High Resolution Stereo Camera, are superimposed on the wider view.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
This picture of Phobos shows two possible landing sites for the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission. The oval in red marks a spot that was previously being considered, while the blue oval denotes the currently favored landing site.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
This photo, taken by Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera, shows a 3-D view of the pockmarked surface of Phobos created by years of impacting meteorites.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, along with its Zenit-2SB rocket, are ferried to the launchpad ahead of their Nov. 8, 2011 launch.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
The view of Phobos from all five channels on Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
The miniaturized Mössbauer Spectrometer aboard the Mars probe Phobos-Grunt was developed by the Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the University of Mainz in Germany. It carries a small amount of radioactive material, cobalt-57.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
Russian space engineers seal the Mars Phobos-Grunt spacecraft inside its Zenit 3SL rocket nosecone for a Nov. 2011 launch toward the Red Planet to explore Mars and its moon Phobos.
The LIFE experiment, exploded view.
This sealed module was used in tests of the experiment's strength and resiliency. It is identical to the module that will fly to Phobos.
