Missile Strike Unlikely Against Wayward Russian Mars Probe
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Russia probably isn’t capable of shooting down a wayward spacecraft with tons of toxic chemicals inside that may soon crash to Earth, U.S. space engineers said.
The $163 million Phobos-Grunt, made by Moscow-based NPO Lavochkin, got stuck in low-Earth orbit after its Nov. 9 launch. It may crash within weeks if scientists are unable to establish contact and activate its propulsion systems. The window to send the spacecraft to a Martian moon, its destination, ends today, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.