Russian Mars Mission Stuck In Earth Orbit

Russian space agency Roscosmos announced on Wednesday (November 9) that its recently launched Phobos-Grunt mission spacecraft was stuck in the earth's orbit.

Space News reported, "The ambitious Russian Phobos-Grunt mission intended to return samples from a Mars moon to Earth has failed to ignite its on-board engines." Roscosmos is hoping the orbit will pull the craft back into radio contact with ground controllers.

This isn't the first time Russia has had trouble getting to Mars. The Guardian reported, "In 1996 another unmanned Russian craft bound for Mars broke up in the atmosphere after a botched launch." If they're successful this time, the approximately $163 million ship will be headed to Phobos, a 13-mile-wide rock orbiting Mars, for samples of the surface.

It should be noted that Russia has a sound record overall when it comes to space exploration. VOA News reported the Russians were the first to put a craft in orbit around the Earth, first to have a craft photograph the "dark side of the moon," and the first to place a human (Yuri Gagarin) in Earth orbit. Also, "Russian Soyuz spacecraft are currently the only means to transport personnel, equipment and supplies to and from the International Space Station."

Aljazeera reported additional details on the situation in the video below.