Phobos Grunt delayed to 2011?

[MarkStanaway]

It looks like the Phobos - Grunt mission to Mars will be delayed till 2011

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8254820.stm

If this is the case 2009 will be the first Mars window launch opportunity to be missed since 1994.

Among other issues it appears that Russia's Deep space tracking and control facilities are not up to scratch after two decades of neglect

Mark

 

[MeteorWayne]

Sad, but considering the record of success for martian missions, better to delay till the next window than launch before you are ready.

 

[3488]

Sad, but considering the record of success for martian missions, better to delay till the next window than launch before you are ready.

I agree Wayne.

I really want Phobos-Grunt to work, but then Russian / Soviet record with the Mars system has been pretty poor to date, where as with Venus, they have really excelled. Seems strange considering how Venus would be considered much more difficult than Mars regarding gravity, atmospheric density, surface temperatures (for landers), etc.

Lets hope Phobos-Grunt succeeds.

Perhaps Deimos-Gulliver could be revived & to get detailed information on both of the Martian moons with dedicated landers would be of immense scientific importance, though Phobos_Grunt on its own would keep scientists busy & provide a unique data set that could be gotten no other way.

Andrew Brown.

 

[JonClarke]

I really want Phobos-Grunt to work, but then Russian / Soviet record with the Mars system has been pretty poor to date, where as with Venus, they have really excelled. Seems strange considering how Venus would be considered much more difficult than Mars regarding gravity, atmospheric density, surface temperatures (for landers), etc.

Not really surprising Andrew. Ignoring early launch failures and those from the Soviet test in flight approach, the failures are nearly all down to launching spacecraft which were not ready to fly.

Mars 4, 5, 6 and 7 were launched with a known defective component. Phobos 1 and 2 and Mars 96 were ambitious mission launched on a short time table without adequate testing.

The Veneras were all extensively tested and not constrained by any external timeline, hence their much better success rate and outstanding achievements.

The only reasonably successful Mars missions, Mars 2 and 3, were both by properly tested spacecraft. That said, even so, Mars 4. 5, 6, 7, and Phobos 2 all reached Mars, completed some aspects of their mission and returned useful data.

But an ambitious mission like Phobos grunt needs to be extensively tested, and I am glad they will have another two years to do this.

 

[3488]

Thanks Jon.

I understand that the Soviet Union launched Mars 4, 5, 6 & 7 with computer chips, they knew were faulty & would likely fail, but they hoped that they would last long enough to complete at least part of their missions.

I was unaware though that the Mars probes were short funded & rushed, where as Venras were proerly funded & tested.

It seems as if Mars 2 & 3 were just plain unlucky & descended in a huge dust storm. They also carried the small walking bots IIRC. The main landers would image them & see how they left imprints in the regolith etc. Pretty impressive considering the era, shame we never got to see them do their stuff. Also the Mars 3 site would heve been highly photogenic in that part of Sirenum. Shame we never got to see that either.

It is correct IMO that Phobos-Grunt is delayed, until the testing is as completed as thoroughly as possible. Same goes for the launch vehicle too. Shame though that the almost duplicate Deimos-Gulliver could not be prepared at the same time if ever will be at all.

I really wish the very best for Phobos-Grunt.

Andrew Brown.

 

[gunsandrockets]

As the mission developed I've tried to keep track of it's progress. I'm not really surprised by the launch delay, if anything I'm happy this seems like a real mission rather than more Russian bluster. :shock: The reports I'd seen seemed so infrequent yet so grandiose, I feared this was another case of a Russian project that sounds great on paper yet never materializes (remember the Kliper?)

 

[MeteorWayne]

Emily Lakdawalla at TPS is reporting the official delay announcement.

"Today, the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, officially announced a delay from 2009 (next month!) to 2011 of the launch of their Phobos sample return mission, Phobos-Grunt. This is a move that has long been anticipated, but until today the official word was that they were going forward to the 2009 launch. The mission will eventually carry to Mars a Chinese orbiter, Yinghuo-1, not to mention an experiment provided by The Planetary Society, the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment (LIFE).

http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002106/

 

[EarthlingX]

en.rian.ru : Russia to test unmanned lander for Mars moon mission

16:39 09/09/2010

Russian scientists are due to carry out tests of an unmanned lander that will be used in a 2011 mission to Phobos, one of the moons of Mars.

The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft will be sent to the surface of Phobos and will then fly back to Earth with soil samples.

"The aim of the test is to narrow down the lander's projected impact location on the surface of the Earth," a statement by the Central Aerodynamic Institute said.

"As far as the lander...does not include any signaling equipment...narrowing down its projected impact area will make the search for it easier," the statement added.

The mission is expected to begin in November 2011 and last some 330 days.

MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti)

Wiki : Fobos-Grunt (last update 2010-08-28)

http://www.esa.int : Phobos-Grunt (Last update: 25 October 2004)

http://www.russianspaceweb.com : Phobos Grunt mission (last update: June 18, 2010)

 

[EarthlingX]

I almost missed this :

http://www.planetary.org : China's Yinghuo-1 Mars Orbiter

Sep. 9, 2010 | 15:12 PDT | 22:12 UTC

By Emily Lakdawalla

A helpful reader has sent me copies of three recently published papers on China's first planetary probe, the Yinghuo-1 orbiter. Yinghuo-1 is planned to launch late next year, hitching a ride to Mars on the Russian Phobos sample return mission, Phobos-Grunt. In this way it's quite different to IKAROS, which got a ride toward Venus with Akatsuki; IKAROS and Akatsuki went their separate ways immediately after launch, while Yinghuo-1 will remain connected to Phobos-Grunt for an 11-month cruise, only separating after Phobos-Grunt successfully enters Mars orbit.

The following is based on two papers from 2010: The Key Techniques and Design Features of YH-1 Mars Probe," by Chen Chang-Ya, Hou Jian-Wen, and Zhu Guang-Wu, and Scientific Objectives of China-Russia Joint Mars Exploration Program YH-1, by Wu Ji, Zhu Guang-Wu, Zhao Hua, Wang Chi, Li Lei, Sun Yue-Qiang, Guo Wei, and Huang Cheng-Li, both published in Chinese Astronomy and Astrophysics in June. Another paper, "Yinghuo-1 -- Martian Space Environment Exploration Orbiter," by Zhao Hua, was published in the Chinese Journal of Space Science in 2008, and is actually available without a subscription.

Model of China's Yinghuo-1 spacecraft
An assistant demonstrates a model of a Mars exploration probe, displayed at the Shanghai Minhang District Museum on May 21, 2007. Credit: Shanghaidaily.com

Yinghuo-1 (stowed configuration)
Credit: Chen et al., 2010

Yinghuo-1 (deployed configuration)
Credit: Chen et al., 2010

and much more.

 

[MeteorWayne]

I fail to see how that's related to the topic.

 

[EarthlingX]

Wiki : Fobos-Grunt (link also above)

The Chinese Mars orbiter Yinghuo-1 will be sent together with the mission.

 

[JonClarke]

Wiki : Fobos-Grunt (link also above)

The Chinese Mars orbiter Yinghuo-1 will be sent together with the mission.

Nice set of links about the Chinese mission, which is now part of Phbos Grunt, thanks.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Wiki : Fobos-Grunt (link also above)

The Chinese Mars orbiter Yinghuo-1 will be sent together with the mission.

OK, got it now. Thanx!

 

[EarthlingX]

You are both welcome

I recommend reading history of the mission on the RussianSpaceWeb, with a lot of background, if you have not done that already.
You can compare that to what you knew at the time, which might be interesting

 

[EarthlingX]

http://www.planetary.org : Timeline for the Phobos Sample Return Mission (Phobos Grunt)

Oct. 27, 2010 | 10:13 PDT | 17:13 UTC

by Louis D. Friedman

In mid-October, I attended the First Moscow Solar System Symposium. Its focus was mostly on Phobos science and plans for next year's launch of the Phobos Sample Return Mission (also known as Phobos-Grunt), on which The Planetary Society will be flying the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment. The Phobos Sample Return Mission (PhSRM) will also carry a Chinese Mars Orbiter, Yinghuo-1: the first interplanetary spacecraft of China.

The preparations for a 2011 launch of PhSRM appear to be going well. With more than a year remaining before the planned launch, all of the hardware is complete and assembly and tests are now underway. The mission is scheduled to launch on a Zenit-2 rocket in November 2011 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Phobos-Grunt and Yinghuo-1
The Russian Phobos sample return mission "Phobos-Grunt" will carry a small Chinese-built satellite, "Yinghuo-1," to Mars. Credit: Lavochkin Association

The nominal timeline planned for the mission is as follows:

* Nov. 2011: Launch
* Nov. 2011 - Sep. 2012: Trajectory correction Maneuvers
o Within 10 days after launch
o 80 days before arrival
o 14 days before arrival
* Oct. 9, 2012: Arrival and orbit insertion at Mars
o Initial orbit: 800 x 80,000 kilometers
o Orbit correction manueuvers
o Separation of Yinghuo-1 Chinese orbiter
o Raise pericenter to approximately 10,000 kilometers
* Jan. 2013: Lower apocenter to about 10,000 km
o Several months of observation of Phobos
* Feb. 9, 2013: Enter quasi-synchronous orbit
o Close to Phobos (standoff distance less than 60 kilometers)
* Feb. 2013: Landing on Phobos
* Feb.-Mar. 2013: Liftoff from Phobos for return
* Feb.-Mar. 2013: Injection to Mars-Earth trajectory
* Aug. 2014: Arrival, entry, and landing on Earth

...

 

[3488]

Thanks EarthlingX.

A reminder of the landing area on Phobos proposed for Phobos - Grunt.

Proposed Phobos-Grunt landing area from ESA Mars Express. The area shown is approx 2 KM wide.

ESA / DLR.

Andrew Brown.

 

[orionrider]

Thanks for the interesting info, I can't wait for the mission to arrive. The 2014-2015 period will be really exciting for planetary exploration, with great data coming back from the Moon, Mars, Venus and Pluto.

BTW, the correct spelling is either "Fobos-Grunt" or "Phobos-Soil".

 

[MeteorWayne]

Thanks for the interesting info, I can't wait for the mission to arrive. The 2014-2015 period will be really exciting for planetary exploration, with great data coming back from the Moon, Mars, Venus and Pluto.

Don't forget Vesta and Ceres!!

 

[orionrider]

:mrgreen: Dawn will arrive at Vesta in less than a year, perfect for starters before the big show...

 

[centsworth_II]

...great data coming back from the Moon, Mars, Venus and Pluto.

Don't forget comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. OK, so it doesn't roll off the tongue as easily as the others.

 

[EarthlingX]

Updated November 17, 2010 :

www.russianspaceweb.com : Phobos-Grunt mission scenario