Russia’s bid for its first interplanetary mission in 15 years went awry on Wednesday when an unmanned spacecraft failed to take the proper course toward Mars after its launch, space officials said.
Russian space agency chief Vladimir Popovkin said an engine failed to fire on the Phobos-Grunt probe after it reached Earth orbit, Interfax reported. The problem could doom the mission to bring back a soil sample from the Martian moon Phobos.