Russian Space Probe Likely to Plummet to Earth in January, 2012

Posted on December 23, 2011

Satellites crashing back to Earth is starting to be a monthly ordeal. Phobos-Grunt, a failed Russian space probe, is expected to plummet back to Earth sometime in January. The probe was left stuck in orbit over Earth after it failed to fire its engines. Most of the satellite is expected to burn up before re-entry. Scientists do not yet know where the remaining pieces of the satellite with land. NASA's James Oberg has warned in November that Phobos-Grunt, which contains about 7 tons of nitrogen teroxide and hydrazine, will be the "most toxic falling satellite ever." Take a look:

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