Russia's Mars probe crash caused by space radiation

The crash of Russia's Mars probe Phobos-Grunt was caused by space radiation and engine failure, Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said Tuesday. Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin said the interplanetary probe' computer system was influenced by heavy-charged space particles in its flight. The space radiation even caused the malfunction of the system. Meanwhile, Popovkin also blamed the foreign-made hardware installed in the probe, saying the inferior microelectronic hardware was seen as another cause to the Mars mission's failure. Roscosmos confirmed in November that the Phobos-Grunt probe carrying China's Yinghuo-1 satellite, which was launched on Nov. 9, failed to reach the intended orbit. The spacecraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 15.