Russian space engineers scrambled Wednesday to salvage an ambitious science mission to Mars after the unmanned spacecraft became stranded in Earth orbit. If they are not successful, the probe, which is loaded with toxic fuel, could re-enter the atmosphere within days or weeks.The spacecraft, a high-stakes effort to bring back soil samples from the Martian moon Phobos — and to return Russia to prominence in planetary exploration after a long dry spell — was launched from Kazakhstan atop a Zenit rocket early Wednesday. Russian officials said that the launching was normal. But then, once the spacecraft was in orbit, two planned firings of its propulsion system, intended to send it on the nearly yearlong journey to Mars, did not occur.“The engines did not fire, not the first or the second time,” said Vladimir Popovkin, director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
An unnamed person in Russia’s space industry told the Interfax news agency that there had been warnings before the launching that glitches in the probe’s command and control system had not been fully resolved. “The risk of failure because of its abnormal operation was very high. Unfortunately, the worst forecasts have come true,” the person said.
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