Russian Probe Debris Crashes into Pacific

No one was hurt, except for the pride of Russia's space agency.

Russia's Phobos-Grunt probe broke up when it re-entered Earth's atmosphere on Sunday, scattering debris around 1,250 kilometres off the coast of Chile. Russian officials had estimated that about 200 kilograms of debris would hit Earth once the probe plunged back down to the planet, although it's unclear just how much ended up in the Pacific Ocean. The probe made up Russia's first interplanetary mission in two decades, and at some 14.2 tonnes, the $165-million craft was also the largest interplanetary craft ever built in Russia. Designed to land on the Martian moon of Phobos and collect soil samples, Phobos-Grunt never made it out of Earth's orbit after a rocket malfunctioned shortly after take-off in November. Ever since, it had been circling the planet, getting closer and closer to the atmosphere until Sunday, when it came tumbling out of the sky. Russian officials have said they believed all the toxic fuel aboard the craft (some 11 tonnes worth) would have burned up upon re-entry, but then again, this craft was also supposed to land on a faraway moon, not come tumbling down into the Pacific Ocean, so, you know. Take that for what it's worth.