Phobos program

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The Phobos program (Russian: Фобос, Fobos, Greek: Φόβος) was an uncrewed space mission consisting of two probes launched by the Soviet Union to study Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. Phobos 1 was launched on 7 July 1988, and Phobos 2 on 12 July 1988, each aboard a Proton-K rocket.^[1]

Phobos 1 suffered a terminal failure en route to Mars.^[1] Phobos 2 attained Mars orbit, but contact was lost before the final phase, prior to deployment of the planned Phobos landers.^[1] Phobos 1 and 2 were of a new spacecraft design, succeeding the 4MV type used in the Venera planetary missions of 1975–1985, and the 5VK design last used during the Vega 1 and Vega 2 missions to Comet Halley. They each had a mass of 2600 kg (6220 kg with orbital insertion hardware attached).

The program featured cooperation from 14 other nations, including Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, France, West Germany, and the United States (which contributed the use of its NASA Deep Space Network for tracking the twin spacecraft).