Russia's Last Shot at Space

摘要

For Russian space scientists, 16 November 1996 is a date they will never forget: A probe to Mars lifted off late that evening, an ambitious mission that would have put some pride back in Russia's tattered space science program. But it was not to be. Barely 4 hours after it lifted off, the $300 million Mars '96 mission plummeted back to Earth, scattering wreckage somewhere in South America or the Pacific Ocean. The spectacular setback was a huge How to the hundreds of scientists in 20 countries involved in Mars '96, but the epicenter of the catastrophe was undoubtedly Moscow's Institute for Space Research (IKI). IKI had bet heavily on the mission, organizing the effort and spending most of its funding throughout the 1990s on its scientific payload. After the demise of Mars '96, says IKI director Albert Oaleev, "we thought we were going to die."