Explanation for weird Mars stuff?, page 1

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Topic started on 28-8-2008 @ 04:01 AM by saturnus1962

So, could there be a explanation for “strange things” we find on Mars? If you look at the list of failed (even crashed) Mars explorers, in my opinion it could well be that parts of these crashed, partly burned up objects are explanations for some (NOT ALL) “things” found on Mars.

Even though not every failed mission ended with a crashed object on mars (as far as is known) and the chance is very small for (for example) Rover to stumble upon earlier missions remainings, it’s still a nice theory.

Have a look at this impressive list of Mars bloopers:

Mars 1

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(1962 Beta Nu 1) was an automatic interplanetary station launched in the direction of Mars on November 1, 1962. On 21 March 1963, when the spacecraft was at a distance of 106,760,000 km from Earth on its way to Mars, communications ceased. Mars 1 closest approach to Mars occurred on June 19, 1963 at a distance of approximately 193,000 km, after which the spacecraft entered a heliocentric orbit

Wikipedia

Zond 2

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This was the fifth Soviet spacecraft to attempt a flyby of Mars. Zond-2 carried a phototelevision camera of the same type later used to photograph the Moon on Zond 3. During some maneuvering in early May, 1965, communications were lost. Running on half power due to the loss of one of its solar panels, the spacecraft flew by Mars on August 6, 1965 at 5.62 km/s, 1,500 km away from the planet.

Wikipedia

Mars 6

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Mars 6 successfully lifted off on August 5, 1973. It reached Mars on March 12, 1974. The descent module separated from the bus at a distance of 48,000 km from Mars. The bus continued on into a heliocentric orbit after passing within 1600 km of Mars. Contact with the descent module was lost at 09:11:05 UT in "direct proximity to the surface", probably either when the retrorockets fired or when it hit the surface at an estimated 61 m/s.

Wikipedia

Mars 7

Mars 7 successfully lifted off on August 9, 1973, into an intermediate Earth orbit on a Proton SL-12/D-1-e booster and then launched into a Mars transfer trajectory. It reached Mars on March 9, 1974. Due to a problem in the operation of one of the onboard systems the landing probe separated prematurely and missed the planet by 1300 km. The intended landing site was 50° S, 28° W. The lander and bus continued on into heliocentric orbits.

Wikipedia

Phobos 1

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Phobos 1 operated nominally until an expected communications session on 2 September 1988 failed to occur. The failure of controllers to regain contact with the spacecraft was traced to an error in the software uploaded on 29 August/30 August, which had deactivated the attitude thrusters. A single character error in constructing an upload sequence resulted in the command executing, with subsequent loss of the spacecraft

Wikipedia

Mars Observer

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Launched by NASA in September 25, 1992. Three days before scheduled orbit insertion, there was an "inexplicable" loss of contact with Mars Observer on August 21, 1993, at 9 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time. It is not known whether the spacecraft was able to follow its automatic programming and go into Mars orbit or if it flew by Mars and is now in a heliocentric orbit.

Wikipedia

Mars Climate Orbiter

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Formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter was one of two spacecraft in the Mars Surveyor '98 program. The Mars Climate Orbiter was intended to enter orbit at an altitude of 140–150 km above Mars. However, a navigation error caused the spacecraft to reach as low as 57 km. The spacecraft was destroyed by atmospheric stresses and friction at this low altitude.

Wikipedia

Mars Polar Lander

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The Mars Polar Lander was part of the NASA Mars Surveyor '98 program. Communication with the lander was lost prior to atmospheric entry. Attempts were made in late 1999 and early 2000 to search for the remains of the Mars Polar Lander using images from the Mars Global Surveyor. NASA is hoping that the higher resolution cameras of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, currently in Martian orbit, will finally locate the lander's remains.

Wikipedia

Deep Space 2

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The Deep Space 2 mission, which launched in January 1999 as part of NASA's New Millennium Program, consisted of two highly advanced miniature space probes sent to Mars. The probes reached Mars apparently without incident, but communication was never established after landing. It is not known what the cause of failure was.

Wikipedia

Beagle 2

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Beagle 2 was an unsuccessful British landing spacecraft. It is not known for certain whether the lander reached the Martian surface. It may have missed Mars altogether, skipped off the atmosphere and entered an orbit around the sun, or burned up during its descent. If it reached the surface, it may have hit too hard or just simply failed to contact Earth due to a minor fault.

Wikipedia

Looking forward to your thoughts!