Cases of Spacecrafts that were lost in Space!

Since the beginning of the Space Age, we humans have succeeded in sending many probes and spacecraft to other planets, the last reaches of the solar system, and beyond. It takes many years of time, research, and the hard work of hundreds of scientists to make these probes and spacecraft. The scientists associated with these missions try their best to keep them working for as long as possible. But sometimes such situations arise, due to which scientists have to deliberately destroy these missions on other planets or their moons. In such a situation, today we will learn about some such missions that died while studying other planets.

Contents:

1. NASA's Galileo Mission to Jupiter
2. Messenger Mission Crashed on Mercury
3. Cassini Mission to Saturn
4. Deep Impacts Crash
5. Lcross crashed on moon
6. Summary and FAQ

NASA's Galileo Mission to Jupiter

Galileo was an orbiter mission of the American Space Agency (NASA), whose main objective was to closely study the composition, structure, and moons of the planet Jupiter by staying in its orbit. The Galileo Mission was launched in 1989, and after a long journey of about 6 years, it successfully entered the orbit of Jupiter in 1995.

 

The expected lifespan of the Galileo Mission was only 2 years, but due to the wisdom of NASA scientists, this mission had completed almost 8 years in the orbit of planet Jupiter. But in the beginning of 2003, the fuel of the Galileo Spacecraft was on the verge of being exhausted. In such a situation, scientists had to take a very difficult decision regarding this spacecraft: whether it should be left to revolve around the planet Jupiter. Or it should be destroyed by burning it in the orbit of Jupiter.

 

 

In its last days, the Galileo Mission discovered water plumes and underwater oceans on Jupiter's moon Europa. This was a very big discovery, due to which the attention of scientists all over the world was drawn towards this small icy moon. In such a situation, many scientists believed that some kind of microbial life could also be present in the underwater seas of this planet. Because of this, scientists did not want the Galileo spacecraft, potentially filled with Earth germs and microbes, to go out of control in the orbit of Jupiter and collide with the life-rich Europa Moon.

 

In such a situation, scientists had to carefully destroy the Galileo spacecraft in the atmosphere of Jupiter before its fuel ran out. In such a situation, scientists gradually started reducing the orbit of the Galileo spacecraft so that it could be diverted towards the atmosphere of planet Jupiter. And finally, in 2003, this spacecraft burned up and got destroyed in the orbit of Jupiter. But even in its last phase, while diving into the atmosphere of planet Jupiter, it collected many important pieces of information related to its magnetic field, radiation belt, and charged particles.

 

Messenger Mission Crashed on Mercury

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system and the closest planet to the Sun. Till now, there are only three space missions in human history that have been able to carry out the flyby of this planet. NASA's Messenger, i.e., Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging, was the first mission to study this planet while in orbit. The main objective of this mission was to closely study the geology, magnetic field, and chemical composition of the planet Mercury.

 

This mission was launched in August 2004. After carrying out one flyby of Earth, two of Venus, and three flybys of Mercury, it entered a stable orbit of Mercury in March 2011. This mission remained in the orbit of planet Mercury and studied its geology, surface, composition, and magnetic field for about four years. But at the end of 2014, the scientists associated with this mission updated that now this mission has reached its final phase. And in the coming few months, its fuel will be completely exhausted, and it will be destroyed after colliding with the surface of planet Mercury.

 

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And finally, on April 30, 2015, the Messenger Spacecraft ran out of fuel, and it collided with the surface of the planet Mercury at a speed of about 14000 kilometers per hour. Due to this collision, a giant crater was also formed on the surface of the planet Mercury. But due to its presence very close to the sun, scientists failed to study this impact and crater with the help of telescopes present on Earth. But scientists hope that the Bepicolombo mission launched in 2018 will reach the orbit of this planet in 2025. He can study this impact crater and its surface closely.

Cassini Huygens Mission to Saturn

The Cassini Mission was created under the joint collaboration of the American Space Agency (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency. The main objective of this mission was to closely study Saturn's rings, geology, composition, and moons while orbiting it.

 

Cassini Mission was launched in 1997 with its Huygens Probe. After a long journey of about 7 years and many gravity assists, this spacecraft successfully entered the orbit of Saturn in 2004. This mission continued to study Saturn and its moons for about 13 years, during which it made many important discoveries related to Saturn and its moons full of life. Hydrocarbon lakes present on its moon, Titan, and water plumes were discovered in Enceladus and the Underwater Ocean.

 

But at the end of 2017, scientists realized that this mission is now in its final stages and only a few months of fuel are left in it. In such a situation, the scientists had to take a very difficult decision. As we know, the Cassini spacecraft was powered by nuclear energy. In such a situation, if it continues to revolve around Saturn, then it is possible that in the future this spacecraft will deviate from its path and land on one of the moons of Saturn, which is full of possibilities for life collides with, which could have been very dangerous for any kind of microbial life or environment present on that moon. In such a situation, scientists took the very difficult decision to destroy their beloved spacecraft forever in the atmosphere of Saturn.

 

On September 15, 2017, the Cassini Spacecraft started its last journey towards Saturn. At this time, Cassini entered the atmosphere of Saturn, but not for any scientific mission but to destroy itself. But even in its last phase, the Cassini Spacecraft kept sending important information related to the atmosphere of Saturn to Earth. But eventually its antenna was also destroyed, and the entire spacecraft burned up and sank into the atmosphere of Saturn, just like the meteor shower that occurs on Earth.

 

Deep Impact Crash

In 2005, NASA crashed its 372-kg spacecraft to study a comet named Tempel 1. Scientists also consider comets as time capsules, which are actually space bodies left at the time of the formation of our solar system. They have been roaming here and there in our solar system for several billion years without any major changes.

 

By studying their surface composition and structure, we can gather important information about the beginning of our solar system and the formation of planets. In such a situation, NASA scientists selected the giant Temple 1 comet, about 8 kilometers away, for study.

 

There were mainly two different components in this mission, the first of which was a 372 kg impactor that would crash on the comet. And there was another spacecraft that would take pictures of the impact, and the spectrometer present in it would study the dust released after the impact and send the information to the scientists present on the earth.

 

The Deep Impact Mission was launched by NASA in January 2005. After a journey of about 5 months, in June 2005, Deep Impact Spacecraft Tempel 1 reached close to the comet, and finally, in July 2005, its 372 kg impactor crashed into the comet. Due to this impact, a crater about 150 meters wide and 30 meters deep was formed on the surface of Tempel 1 Comet, and due to this collision, a large amount of space dust was also released. The main spacecraft took several photographs of the impact and the crater, and the spectrometer instrument present in it discovered silicates, carbonates, smectite, metal sulfides, and water ice in the dust particles released after the impact.

 

Lcross Crashed on Moon

In October 2009, under Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, i.e., Lcross, first its rocket booster and then the main spacecraft collided with the surface of the Moon. The objective of this mission was to study the geology of the Lunar Polar Region present at the South Pole of the Moon and the water ice present there.

 

In initial studies, evidence of large amounts of water ice and hydrogen was found in the South Pole of the Moon, which could play an important role in colonizing the Moon in the future. But we needed to study this region in a better way, due to which NASA designed the Lcross Mission, which was mainly an impact mission. Under this, first of all, its rocket booster would crash into the surface of the moon, due to which a crater would be formed on its surface and a large amount of dust and rocks would come out of it. After which, the instruments present in its main spacecraft would closely study the dust particles released after the impact, and then that too would crash on the surface of the moon.

 

Also Read:  NASA's Juno Mission to Jupiter Explained!

The Lcross mission was launched in June 2009 with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. After spending some time in orbit, on October 9, 2009, the rocket booster of the Lcross mission first crashed at a place called Cabeus Crater, located in the South Pole of the Moon. It created a crater about 30 meters wide and 5 meters deep at this place, and due to this impact, a large amount of dust also came out of its surface. About 4 minutes after the rocket booster hit the surface, its main spacecraft dived into this dust cloud and, after studying its composition, sent the necessary information to the scientists present on Earth. After which, it itself crashed into the surface of the moon, and this mission came to an end.

 

Summary and FAQ

In the future, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, i.e., the DART Mission, will add its name to this list. This is mainly an Asteroid Redirection Mission under which NASA scientists will crash this spacecraft into an asteroid named Didymos and then study the changes in its orbit. So that in the event of a giant asteroid hitting our Earth in the future, scientists can change the path of that asteroid through this mission. This mission has been launched on November 24, 2021, and will collide with the Didymos asteroid between September 26 and October 1, 2022, at a high speed of about 24000 kilometers per hour. Here are some questions that could arise in your mind:

1. How many failed space missions?

There are many failed space missions.

2. Which spacecraft is lost in space?

One example is the Mars Observer (1992), which was lost just before entering orbit. Additionally, several satellites and probes have been lost due to malfunctions or communication failures over the years.

3. Which three astronauts were lost in space?

The three astronauts who tragically lost their lives during the Apollo 1 mission in 1967 were Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee. They died in a cabin fire during a pre-launch test.

4. What happens every 176 years in space?

One notable event that occurs approximately every 176 years is the return of Halley's Comet to the inner solar system. Its last perihelion passage was in 1986, and it is expected to return around 2061.

5. Why did Apollo 1 fail?

The Apollo 1 mission faced a tragic accident in 1967 when a cabin fire occurred during a pre-launch test. The ignition was likely due to an electrical fault in the pure oxygen environment of the command module, resulting in the loss of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee.

6. Is 1 hour in space really 7 years?

The idea that 1 hour in space is equivalent to 7 years on Earth is a misconception. This concept is often misunderstood and misattributed. Time dilation effects occur at relativistic speeds, but the relationship is more complex and depends on the specific conditions of the journey.

7. What happens every 28 days in space?

The approximate 28-day cycle in space corresponds to the lunar month. It's the time it takes for the Moon to orbit Earth. This cycle influences various phenomena, such as tides on Earth and the phases of the Moon.