Mars 96

Mars 96
Mars 96 probe assembly
NamesMars-8
Mission typeMars Orbiter
Lander
Penetrators
OperatorRoscosmos
COSPAR ID1996-064A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.24656
Mission durationFailed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftMars 96
ManufacturerNPO Lavochkin
Launch mass6,180 kg (13,620 lb)
Dry mass3,159 kg (6,964 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date16 November 1996, 20:48:53 UTC
RocketProton-K / D-2
Launch siteBaikonur Cosmodrome,
Site 200/39
ContractorKhrunichev State Research and Production Space Center
Entered serviceFailed to orbit
End of mission
Decay date17 November 1996
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit

Mars 96 (sometimes called Mars-8) was a failed Mars mission launched in 1996 to investigate Mars by the Russian Space Forces and not directly related to the Soviet Mars probe program of the same name. After failure of the second fourth-stage burn, the probe assembly re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, breaking up over a 320 km (200 mi) long portion of the Pacific Ocean, Chile, and Bolivia.[1] The Mars 96 spacecraft was based on the Phobos probes launched to Mars in 1988. They were of a new design at the time and both ultimately failed. For the Mars 96 mission the designers believed they had corrected the flaws of the Phobos probes, but the value of their improvements was never demonstrated due to the destruction of the probe during the launch phase.

  1. ^ James Oberg (6 March 1999). "The probe that fell to Earth". New Scientist. Retrieved 9 September 2009.