Russia Mars Probe Fails in Setback for Space Program

Russia’s celebrated mission to Mars failed early today shortly after the rocket blasted off into space, the military space forces said.

The failure is a serious setback for the struggling Russian space program, which was counting on the Mars ’96 probe to give it a new lease on life.

Space force officials refused immediate explanation of what went wrong after the four-stage Proton booster lifted off late Saturday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Interfax news agency said.

It was unclear whether the problem was in the booster rocket or in the spacecraft itself.

At the space tracking center in Ukraine, officials said the first three stages fired properly, but problems arose during the fourth stage, Interfax reported.

Space control lost contact with the spacecraft, which was in orbit around Earth, Interfax said. The probe is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere within 30 days and burn up, said official Vladimir Molodtsov.

“It is a very serious setback for world exploration of Mars, and in particular for the Russian space program,” said James Oberg, an American specialist on Russian space activities.

“They are trying to show they still had the right stuff, and they don’t.”

The trip would have taken the Mars ’96 spacecraft, which consists of an orbiter and four landers, 10 months.

A score of nations, including the United States, France and Germany, had scientific instruments aboard the Russian craft.

Mars ’96 is the first new spacecraft in a decade produced by the impoverished Russian space program. Most of its efforts have gone into keeping the decade-old manned space station Mir aloft and regularly supplied with food, fuel and fresh crews.

The last Russian mission to Mars, like the last U.S. mission, also ended in heartbreak. Phobos-1 and Phobos-2, launched in 1988, vanished without a trace.