Zond 2, the Soviets’ second spacecraft to Mars, was launched
November 30, 1964 just two days after Mariner 4 blasted off from Cape
Canaveral. The next day, December 1,
communications with Zond indicated that a serious problem had occurred. Only half of the expected level of power was
available on the spacecraft, due to one of two solar panels that did not deploy
properly because of a broken tug cord.
Controllers freed the second panel by firing plasma engines to shake it
loose but it was too late for a necessary mid-course maneuver to fine-tune its
approach to Mars.
On or about February 17, 1965, the controllers made a
mid-course correction, but in April the communications with Zond 2 began having
more problems. On May 5, controllers
were unable to raise Zond.
It is believed Zond 2 flew by Mars on August 6, 1965 and
headed into interplanetary space.
In an April 1991 article in the Electronic Journal of the
Astronomical Society of the Atlantic, Andrew J. LePage speculates on the true
mission of Zond 2, which he describes as “probably the most mysterious of any planetary
mission…by Soviet authorities.”
In the article, he cites Zond 2’s slower trajectory to Mars,
arriving several weeks after Mariner 4, despite being launched only two days
after the US spacecraft. Its trajectory
also indicates that the probe would minimize speed once it approached Mars.
Two books from Russia, one a biography of the Soviets’ chief
spacecraft designer Sergei Korolov and the other a story about an early Soviet
Mars mission, strongly suggest Zond 2 could have been carrying a lander to
touchdown on the Martian surface to test for signs of life.
However, the truth might never been known since Zond 2 hasn’t
been heard from in almost fifty-two years.
2 comments:
Millions of years from now, another planet's people will debate, "Why did the people of Mars send us this?"
LOL! I agree. By that time we will have probably polluted many other planets.
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