Home

On:

From the closeness of the Moon to far beyond the orbit of Pluto, space probes have been making both headlines and history, with China successfully making humanity’s first soft landing of a space probe (and rover!) on the far side of the Moon, and the New Horizons probe beaming new images back to Earth from its encounter with Ultima Thule at the edge of the Solar System.
read more

On:

The European Space Agency just can’t seem to catch a break: the organization hasn’t been able to successfully land a space probe on Mars, with the latest setback marked by the identification of the crash site of ExoMars’ Schiaparelli lander. The ESA’s previous attempt at putting a probe on mars was the ill-fated Mars Express Beagle 2 lander, in 2003.

The probe entered Mars’ atmosphere on October 19, but contact was lost seconds after its descent parachute was jettisoned. An investigation into the probe’s telemetry shows that the parachute was released too early, and the descent thrusters did not fire long enough, resulting in the probe crashing into the Martian landscape.
read more