The Crash of Failed Mars Probe Phobos-Grunt (Infographic)

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Failed Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt, trapped in Earth orbit since launch, is expected to re-enter the atmosphere in January, 2012.
Failed Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt, trapped in Earth orbit since launch, is expected to re-enter the atmosphere in January, 2012. (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor)

Russia launched an ambitious Mars moon probe, the Phobos-Grunt mission, on Nov. 8, 2011 (EST) on a mission to collect the first samples of the Martian moon Phobos, but the spacecraft was soon marooned in Earth orbit. See how the Phobos-Grunt probe will fall to Earth in January 2012 in the SPACE.com infographic above.

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Karl Tate
Karl Tate
Space.com contributor

Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork).  Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.  He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.