Äîêóìåíò âçÿò èç êýøà ïîèñêîâîé ìàøèíû. Àäðåñ îðèãèíàëüíîãî äîêóìåíòà : http://www.astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2015/12/missing-orbiters
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Has NASA kept track of the orbits of the Mariners and Rangers that missed the Moon? Do they know where they are and if they would return to Earth? | Astronomy.com
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Has NASA kept track of the orbits of the Mariners and Rangers that missed the Moon? Do they know where they are and if they would return to Earth?

Calvin Remmers, Pierz, Minnesota
RELATED TOPICS: SPACECRAFT
Mariner spacecraft
The world’s space agencies do not actively track defunct spacecraft — that is, spacecraft with dead radios — beyond Earth orbit, though sometimes they can work out where they should be. The problem is, a spacecraft in solar orbit is almost always too small to observe and things can happen that can change its course. For example, if it includes a pressure vessel — say, a propellant tank — that has not been intentionally depressurized, there’s a good chance it has by now burst or vented. That means it acted like a rocket and changed the spacecraft’s course. Sunlight, solar wind, and even peeling paint can nudge a spacecraft’s course over decades.

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