Program Phobos

The program Phobos was an uninhabited space mission Soviet, consisted of two probes dedicated mainly to the study of the planet Mars and of its two moons, Phobos and Déimos. Suffering from critical anomalies, the two probes ended up losing contact with the Ground. Seule Phobos 2 succeeds in being put into orbit around Mars and collecting data, including 38 photographs of a resolution higher than 40 meters.

The Phobos missions aimed in particular the observation of the Sun (study of the Solar wind, the plasmatic environment and the Magnetic field), the study of the composition of the surface of the Phobos satellite and the atmosphere of the planet Mars.

Probes

The Phobos probes constituted a new generation of space probes, succeeding the design used for the probes Venera planetary missions of 1975 - 1985, including the last used during the missions Vega 1 and Vega 2 in direction of the Halley's Comet.

The principal part of the probes made up of a pressurized toroidal section including/understanding the electronic systems, surrounded by a cylindrical module supporting the scientific instruments. In lower part four spherical tanks filled with Hydrazine were fixed being used with the engine supply of the control system as attitude, once the abandoned principal engine. This system had at its disposal 28 engines of operation (24 developing a push of 50 NR, and 4 a push of 10 NR), assembled on the hydrazine tanks, the body of the probe and the solar panels.

The Phobos probes had each one a mass of 2600 kg, 6220 kg on the whole with the system of propulsion for orbital insertion. They were launched by a rocket Proton-K.

Phobos 1

The probe Phobos 1 was launched the July 7th 1988. The mission as envisaged proceeded until a brutal interruption of the communications the September 2nd 1988, whereas the probe travelled in direction of Mars. The trip computer of the probe did not know to correctly interpret the orders sent since the Earth the 29 and the August 30th, and the engines of control of attitude were turned off. The solar panels of the probe lost their orientation with respect to the sun and the probe exhausted its batteries.

Phobos 2

The probe Phobos 2 was launched 5 days after Phobos 1, the July 12th 1988. It makes a success of its setting orbits around Mars and collected about it data on the Sun, Mars and Phobos. Little before the end mission, at the time when the probe flew over with less than 50 meters the Phobos satellite, the contact was lost. The attempts at reception of the signal emitted by the probe were vain, the mission finished the March 27th 1989. The cause of the failure is supposed to be a dysfunction of the trip computer, caused by particles emitted at the time of a solar eruption. The probe then lost its orientation, its batteries became exhausted and it finishes like Phobos 1, dumb woman forever.

See too

External bonds

the Soviet probes Phobos
Images taken by Phobos 2
Page of information of NASA on the project Phobos

Be-X-old: Фобас (касьмічныапарат)

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