Images taken by a NASA Mars orbiter indicate that a missing European space probe was destroyed on impact after plummeting to the surface of the Red Planet from a height of two to four kilometres, the European Space Agency said on Friday. The ESA says its Schiaparelli Mars probe crash-landed and may have exploded https://t.co/DfWQOPbXK4 pic.twitter.com/T5tE9umPx8 — @CBCTechSciBut contact with the vehicle was lost around 50 seconds before the expected landing time, leaving its fate uncertain until the NASA images were received. A camera on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took pictures of the expected touchdown site. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)The agency said the probe hit the surface of the planet at a whopping 300 km/h. The space agency said that NASA's orbiter would take pictures with its highest-resolution camera next week, which may provide further clues.

Source: CBC News October 21, 2016 17:20 UTC