Portal:Mars/Selected article/2
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Mars 96 (sometimes called Mars 8) was an orbiter launched in 1996 by Russia and not directly related to the Soviet Mars probe program of the same name. The orbiter's intended destination was Mars, but its actual destination was the Pacific Ocean, due to problems with the launch vehicle. The Mars 96 spacecraft was based on the Phobos vehicles launched to Mars in 1988. They were of a new design at the time and both ultimately failed. But for the Mars 96 probe the designers believed they had corrected the flaws of the Phobos vehicle. Alas, they did not get to find out if they had produced a successful design this time due to the launch vehicle failure.
It was, however, a very ambitious mission and the heaviest (intended) interplanetary probe ever launched. It included a large complement of instruments such as the Penetrator, many provided by France, Germany, and other European countries (some of which have since been re-flown on Mars Express, launched in 2003), and the United States. It was made up of the Orbiter, two Surface Stations, and two Penetrators.
