Mars Lander Wreckage Apparently Spotted | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

 Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.22.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.16.24

 Airborne-FlightTraining-04.17.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-04.18.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.19.24

Fri, May 06, 2005

Mars Lander Wreckage Apparently Spotted

Orbiter Sees What Looks Like A Parachute

NASA's Mars Global Surveyor may have found the wreckage of the Mars Polar Lander, an exploration vehicle that went missing just as it was supposed to touch down on the surface of the Red Planet.

New imaging techniques that vastly enhance the resolution of the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard Global Surveyor have already been credited with finding the landing sites of both Viking missions, which sent some of the earliest pictures from the Martian surface back to Earth in 1976.

Now, NASA says the MOC has spotted what may be the wreckage of the doomed lander, missing since 1999.

An investigation into what went wrong with the MPL concluded the spacecraft's legs deployed early, perhaps sending a false signal to shut down the lander's rocket brakes. The lander then may have simply dropped the 130-feet or so and crashed on the surface.

The problem with the MPL was that it had no way of reporting what went wrong as it was happening. Now, more than five years after it was lost, scientists hope they can gain some insight into what exactly went wrong.

FMI: www.nasa.gov

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.26.24): DETRESFA (Distress Phrase)

DETRESFA (Distress Phrase) The code word used to designate an emergency phase wherein there is reasonable certainty that an aircraft and its occupants are threatened by grave and i>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.26.24)

Aero Linx: The International Association of Missionary Aviation (IAMA) The International Association of Missionary Aviation (IAMA) is comprised of Mission organizations, flight sch>[...]

Airborne 04.22.24: Rotor X Worsens, Airport Fees 4 FNB?, USMC Drone Pilot

Also: EP Systems' Battery, Boeing SAF, Repeat TBM 960 Order, Japan Coast Guard H225 Buy Despite nearly 100 complaints totaling millions of dollars of potential fraud, combined with>[...]

Airborne 04.24.24: INTEGRAL E, Elixir USA, M700 RVSM

Also: Viasat-uAvionix, UL94 Fuel Investigation, AF Materiel Command, NTSB Safety Alert Norges Luftsportforbund chose Aura Aero's little 2-seater in electric trim for their next gli>[...]

Airborne-NextGen 04.23.24: UAVOS UVH 170, magni650 Engine, World eVTOL Directory

Also: Moya Delivery Drone, USMC Drone Pilot, Inversion RAY Reentry Vehicle, RapidFlight UAVOS has recently achieved a significant milestone in public safety and emergency services >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Change Display

Headlines Only | Headlines w/ Teasers | View Everything

Advertisement

Top Videos

Airborne 04.26.24: Beta Alia 250, SPEEA v Boeing, Anti-Av Climate Attacks

Airborne-Flight Training 04.25.24: eDA40 Progress, LIFT-Tuskegee, U of OK

Airborne 04.24.24: INTEGRAL E, Elixir USA, M700 RVSM

See All

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC