 A model of Fobos-Grunt presented during CeBIT 2011 | |
| Mission type | Phobos lander Sample return |
|---|---|
| Operator | Roskosmos |
| COSPAR ID | 2011-065A |
| SATCAT no. | 37872 |
| Mission duration | Planned: 3 years Final: failed at launch |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Lavochkin, Russian Space Research Institute |
| Launch mass | 13,505 kg (29,773 lb) with fuel |
| Dry mass | 2,300 kg (5,100 lb) |
| Power | 1000 W (main orbiter/lander) + 300 W (Earth return vehicle) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 8 November 2011, 20:16 UTC |
| Rocket | Zenit-2SB |
| Launch site | Baikonur 45/1 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 15 January 2012 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 112 kilometres (70 mi) |
| Apogee | 125 kilometres (78 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.4° |
| Epoch | 15 January 2012 |
Fobos-Grunt (also spelled Phobos-Grunt, also called Phobos Sample Return Mission) was an unmanned Russian spacecraft. It was an attempted sample return mission to Phobos, a moon of the planet Mars. Scientists intended Phobos-Grunt to orbit and study Mars. It was meant to look at Mars' atmosphere and dust storms, plasma and radiation. Then, Phobos-Grunt should have landed on Phobos and returned a 200 g soil sample to Earth.
The spacecraft was the first Russian interplanetary mission since Mars 96. It was launched on 8 November 2011 (UTC), aboard a Zenit rocket, at Baikonur Cosmodrome. It was sent with the Chinese spacecraft Yinghuo-1 and with the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment.
The name Phobos-Grunt (Russian: Фобос-Грунт) is Russian for Phobos-Soil.
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