Officials keep tabs on falling satellite

As a Russian Mars probe that stalled in orbit may fall to the Earth sometime next week, the government announced Tuesday that it would broadcast its location real time on the websites of related agencies and via Twitter until its crash.

The 13.2-ton probe named Phobos-Grunt, launched last November, was scheduled to explore the Martian moon Phobos, but became stuck in orbit when its rocket boosters failed, and computer malfunctioned, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

It is expected to plummet through Earth’s atmosphere in mid-January, but for now it is difficult to estimate its crash site, officials said.

Science ministry officials said about 20-30 fragments, weighing a total of 200 kg, might fall to the earth, but that risk of damage was not high.

“The chances are low it will land near the Korean Peninsula, and the exact crash point is predictable an hour or so before its landfall,” said an official.

The Education and Science Ministry and the Defense Ministry has operated a joint situation room in the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute since Monday. They will also report its descent hour by hour online at event.kasi.re.kr and www.kari.re.kr, as well as the Twitter accounts of KASS and the ministry, according to officials.

Officials said that if the spacecraft approaches the Korean Peninsula, they will send out real-time information through popular web portals and news outlets.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)