 Illustration of the Phobos spacecraft | |
| Mission type | Orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | Soviet Union |
| COSPAR ID | 1988-059A |
| SATCAT no. | 19287 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | 8 months, 15 days (launch until comm failure) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 6,220 kg (with orbital insertion hardware)[1][2] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 17:01:43, 12 July 1988 (UTC) |
| Rocket | Proton-K rocket |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 27 March 1989 (spacecraft signal failed to be reacquired). |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Areocentric |
| Mars orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 29 January 1989 |
Phobos 2 was the last space probe designed by the Soviet Union. It was designed to explore the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. It was launched on 12 July 1988, and entered orbit on 29 January 1989.
Phobos 2 operated nominally throughout its cruise and Mars orbital insertion phase on 29 January 1989, gathering data on the Sun, interplanetary medium, Mars, and Phobos. Phobos 2 investigated the Mars surface and atmosphere and returned 37 images of Phobos[3] with a resolution of up to 40 meters.
Shortly before the final phase of the mission, during which the spacecraft was to approach within 50 m of Phobos' surface and release two landers (one, a mobile hopper, the other, a stationary platform) contact with Phobos 2 was lost. The mission ended when the spacecraft signal failed to be reacquired on 27 March 1989. The cause of the failure was determined to be a malfunction of the on-board computer.[3]
- ^ nasa.gov: Phobos Project Information
- ^ "Fobos 2" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ a b Nature Publishing Group, Television observations of Phobos