James Oberg of UPI claims that NASA knew there was a problem with the Mars Polar Lander propulsion system prior to the Dec. 3 landing attempt and “withheld this conclusion from the public.” NASA categorically denies this charge.
March 21st, 2000
NASA knew Mars Polar Lander doomed United Press International
The disappearance of NASA’s Mars Polar Lander last December was no surprise to space officials, UPI has learned. Prior to its arrival at Mars, a review board had already identified a fatal design flaw with the braking thrusters that doomed the mission, but NASA withheld this conclusion from the public. The probe was lost while attempting to land near the martian south pole on December 3.
March 21st, 2000
NASA denies hiding Mars probe flaws United Press International
A NASA spokesman vigorously denied a United Press International article that NASA knew that the Mars Polar Orbiter was doomed prior to its December crash into Mars but kept the information from the public. Brian Welch, director of public affairs at NASA headquarters in Washington, said “we think the story is whacko in every particular.”
March 14th, 2000
Sloppy management blamed for Mars Climate Orbiter loss Spaceflight Now
An independent review board blames the loss of NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter last year on sloppy project management, a lack of agency oversight, poor communications and shortsighted engineering. To avoid similar mishaps in the future, the board called for NASA to adopt a “mission success first” approach, one in which the emphasis is clearly on the word “success.”
February 24th, 2000
NASA Considers Mars Polar Lander Repeat for ’02
Just months after losing a $165-million lander at Mars, NASA is now considering sending a near duplicate spacecraft to the red planet in 2002.
February 18th, 2000
Mars Polar Lander’s Demise May Never Be Known, Flight Director Says
Less than one month before a NASA review board is scheduled to report on the failure of Mars Polar Lander, a mission team member cautioned that the cause of the lander
February 18th, 2000
Mars lander may have had fatal flaw
Engineers are looking into the possibility that a flaw in the design of Nasa’s Mars Polar Lander (MPL) may have caused its engines to cut off prematurely when it was descending to the Martian surface.
February 18th, 2000
Flaw Found in Mars Lander’s Design
Engines controlling the final descent of the Mars Polar Lander might have shut off prematurely, sending the $165 million probe crashing to the planet’s surface, according to a new scenario being investigated by scientists.
February 16th, 2000
A Fatal Design’s Single Bit
However, during the actual Mars landing, the accidental setting of the ground-contact bit as soon as the legs unfolded would mean that later, when the lander cut itself loose from its chute and switched on its landing engines, it would instantly conclude that it had already landed and immediately switch the engines off again — falling the remaining 1800 meters to the surface of Mars.
February 16th, 2000
Was Polar Lander Doomed By Fatal Design Flaw
In a surprising development, an industry source told “SpaceDaily” Tuesday that the Failure Review Board for the Mars Polar Lander has located a fatal design flaw that is regarded as the most probable culprit in the Lander’s disappearance last Dec. 3 somewhere over the southern polar regions of Mars.