Russian Mars Probe Doomed By Funding Shortfall

A crippled Russian Mars spacecraft is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere this coming weekend -- the victim of funding shortfalls, an independent expert says.

In a column published by our USA TODAY colleague Dan Vergano, space law attorney Michael Listner says the failure of Russia's Phobus-Grunt spacecraft can be linked to the same type of underfunding that doomed NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander back in 1999.

Launched in November, the Russian spacecraft suffered an upper-stage engine failure and was stranded in low Earth orbit as a result.

Check out the story HERE.