posted April 08, 2009 02:17 AM               

IEEE Spectrum: Russia to Delay Martian Moon Mission

Russia will announce a two-year delay of its flagship planetary mission this month, a project participant told IEEE Spectrum.

The 11-ton Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, designed to land on the surface of the Martian moon Phobos and return samples of its soil back to Earth, was scheduled to lift off October 2009. A number of science institutions around the world have contributed instruments and experiments for the ambitious project. However, according to Francis Rocard, a scientist at CNES, the French space agency, which supplied some of the scientific payloads for the project, Russian space officials are about to announce a postponement of Phobos-Grunt’s launch to 2011.

"What we know is that they are waiting for the 2009 budget [to be finalized], and then they will announce a delay," says Rocard. Since the orbital mechanics only allow launches to Mars once every 25 to 26 months, the next opportunity for the Phobos-Grunt mission to leave Earth would not come until the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012.

posted April 25, 2009 04:41 PM               

A Russian announcement on the delay of the Phobos mission is imminent, says Zak, who first reported it on his Web site and then in an article for the magazine IEEE Spectrum. The launch delay for that flight will be from October of this year to the next Mars launch window in late 2011 or early 2012, he says.

posted May 05, 2009 09:51 AM               

Preparations For Launch Of Phobos-Grunt Probe Proceed As Planned

All preparations for launching the Phobos-Grunt space probe, expected to deliver to the Earth samples of Martian soil, proceed strictly as planned, the general director and general designer of the Lavochkin research and production association (the probe's manufacturer), Georgy Polishchuk, told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

"The work schedule is tight, but everything is on time and the question of shifting the launch from 2009 to 2001 has not been discussed anywhere," Polishchuk told Itar-Tass in the wake of media rumors the probe's launch had to be delayed due to a shortage of personnel.

Polishchuk said the Phobos-Grunt probe, which is on the list of the federal space program extending till 2015, is a number one priority for the Lavochkin Association.

"At the launch site and at the head office work is in full swing. Cooperation with the Chinese partners proceeds well," he said.

The Lavochkin Association has already integrated a test sample of the Chinese micro-satellite with the Russian probe, and the flight sample will be delivered to Russia on June 17.

posted September 17, 2009 12:29 AM               

Russia will pushed back its flagship satellite mission to Mars' moon until 2011 in a move which will delay the joint launch of China's first Mars probe, space sources were cited as saying Wednesday.

"The prospects of the spacecraft Phobos' flight to Mars was discussed at a conference of scientist and space industry firms today. The dominant opinion was that this flight would be put off until 2011," one source told the Interfax news agency.

The delay, just two month before the scheduled launch, will be officially announced this week by Russian Space Agency, Roskosmos, the source added.