Fobos-Grunt
Fobos-Grunt[2] (also spelled Phobos-Grunt, also called Phobos Sample Return Mission[3]) was an unmanned Russian spacecraft. It was an attempted sample return mission to Phobos, a moon of the planet Mars.[3][4][5] Scientists intended Phobos-Grunt to orbit and study Mars. It was meant to look at Mars' atmosphere and dust storms, plasma and radiation. Then, Phobos-Grunt should have landed on Phobos and returned a 200 g[4][5] soil sample to Earth.[3][4][5][6]
 A model of Fobos-Grunt presented during CeBIT 2011 | |
| Mission type | Phobos lander Sample return |
|---|---|
| Operator | Roskosmos |
| COSPAR ID | 2011-065A |
| SATCAT no. | 37872 |
| Mission duration | Planned: 3 years Final: failed at launch |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Lavochkin, Russian Space Research Institute |
| Launch mass | 13,505 kg (29,773 lb) with fuel |
| Dry mass | 2,300 kg (5,100 lb) |
| Power | 1000 W (main orbiter/lander) + 300 W (Earth return vehicle)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 8 November 2011, 20:16 UTC |
| Rocket | Zenit-2SB |
| Launch site | Baikonur 45/1 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 15 January 2012 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 112 kilometres (70 mi) |
| Apogee | 125 kilometres (78 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.4° |
| Epoch | 15 January 2012 |
The spacecraft was the first Russian interplanetary mission since Mars 96.[5] It was launched on 8 November 2011 (UTC), aboard a Zenit rocket, at Baikonur Cosmodrome.[3] It was sent with the Chinese spacecraft Yinghuo-1[3][5] and with the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment.[3]
The name Phobos-Grunt (Russian: Фобос-Грунт) is Russian for Phobos-Soil.[5]
Fobos-Grunt Media
Image of Phobos. The Fobos-Grunt project began with the feasibility study of a Phobos sample-return mission in 1999.
Mockup of the spacecraft's main propulsion unit
Overview of planned trajectories.- 1. Baikonour launch
- 2. First Burn
- 3. Spent fuel tank ejected
- 4. Second Burn (Departure to Martian system)
References
- ↑ "Конструкция АМС "Фобос-Грунт"".
- ↑ "Russian spacecraft for Fobos-Grunt program to be controlled from Yevpatoria". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Timeline for the Phobos Sample Return Mission (Phobos Grunt)". The Planetary Society. Archived from the original on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Phobos-Grunt: destination Mars in 2011". CNES. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Phobos-Grunt". NASA. Archived from the original on 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
- ↑ "Phobos-Grunt". ESA. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
Other websites
Information
- "Phobos-Grunt Profile". NASA. Archived from the original on 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
- "Phobos-Grunt Profile". ESA. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
- "Phobos-Grunt Profile". CNES. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
Images
- A picture of Phobos-Grunt Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
- Phobos-Grunt diagram[dead link]. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
- A model of Phobos-Grunt[dead link]. Retrieved 2011-09-05.