Phobos Grunt Links Removed from US Military Tracking Site

The U.S. military broke from its standard practice by removing links to data tracking Russia’s failed Phobos-Grunt Mars moon probe from its Space Track website, Aviation Week reported Jan. 18.

Instead of including final re-entry data for the defunct probe, which plunged into the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 15, the public website, managed by U.S. Strategic Command, posted only a vague statement that Phobos-Grunt “decayed within the forecast period of 16:59-17:47” GMT.

The data removal comes as some in Russia have suggested the United States may be responsible for Phobos-Grunt’s failure. NASA denied a Russia claim that its asteroid tracking radar may have disabled the spacecraft.