Hard Crash-Landing May Have Wrecked Europe's Mars Probe

Gabriella Pedro 
Physics .1 Per. G
25 October 2016
Blog Post #2

Hard Crash-Landing May have Wrecked Europe's Mars Probe 

Scientists say that Europe's experimental Mars probe named Schiaparelli has hit the right spot but may have been destroyed in a fiery ball of rocket fuel because it was traveling too fast. The European Space Agency states that the probe dropped from a height of 2 to 4 kilometers (1.4 miles to 2.4 miles) and struck the surface at a speed exceeding 300 kph. (186 mph). 

This is the Schiaparelli model- the mars landing device. Schiaparelli was mainly designed to test technology for a more ambitious European Mars landing in 2020. Although it was used for other purposes including; to take  images of Mars and conduct scientific measurements on the surface. The European Space Agency said the probe's mother ship was successfully placed into orbit Wednesday and soon will begin analyzing the Martian atmosphere in search for evidence of life.

 

 The European Space Agency says that this picture is taken by NASA satellite, it shows a black spot where the Schiaparelli lander was meant to touch down on Wednesday, October, 19th.

This image annotated on October 20th 2016 shows a spot that indicates  the landing sit of the Schiaparelli model. 

Fun Facts: 

1. There have only been seven successful robotic landings on Mars, all by NASA. The last landing was in 2012, when the Curiosity rover touched down in a Martian crater.
2. Landing on Mars is notoriously difficult because of the planet’s thin, dusty atmosphere. Inbound spacecraft hit the atmosphere at 12,000 mph (19,300 kph) and have only minutes to slow down and land.
3. With the loss of Schiaparelli, only two spacecraft are currently roaming the Martian surface.