(Image source: Michael Carroll / Space.com)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR LAUREN ZIMA

It was supposed to spend three years going to a Mars moon and back. But the failed Russian probe that launched in November is on its way back down early. Here’s Fox News.

“Scientists are warning that one of the heaviest hunks of space junk ever could crash into Earth this weekend -- and it’s toxic. … It weighs more than 14 tons -- the size of a van.”

The Phobos-Ground probe was an ambitious mission to get soil samples from Mars’s moon Phobos. But while the launch went well, it never fired its engines to get out of low Earth orbit. Now it’s expected to crash down Sunday evening in the southeast Pacific Ocean.

The LA Times reports the Russian space agency is blaming poor funding -- and maybe sabotage.

“...agency head Vladimir Popovkin acknowledged … that limited funds and out-of-warranty components may have played a role in Phobos-Ground's failure to leave Earth orbit. Controversially, he also said he believed foreign interference could have played a role.”

He didn’t point the finger at any government, but said the technology to influence spacecraft does exist. The Daily Mail identifies another factor in the failed launches: the company behind the probe.

“Phobos-Ground marked Russia’s first planned foray beyond Earth’s orbit since a botched 1996 robotic mission to Mars. That probe, designed by the same ... company, crashed shortly after launch due to an engine failure. The firm also built two other Phobos-bound probes that failed in 1988.”

Regardless of why it failed, it’s coming down. But while a 14.5-ton spacecraft sounds dangerous, this video from Analytical Graphics explains -- the risk it actually poses is small.

“Most of the satellite is expected to burn up on reentry, although some pieces may fall to the Earth’s surface. … Any debris that reenters would very likely land in the ocean, since water covers nearly three quarters of the Earth’s surface.”

To date, no one has ever been killed or injured by falling manmade spacejunk. But this probe has an added danger: it’s carrying 10 tons of toxic fuel -- that’s over two-thirds of its total weight. But the BBC reports, that shouldn’t be a problem, either.

“ … crucially, the [fuel] tanks are made of aluminium, which has a relatively low melting temperature. Analysts are confident the tanks will rupture and their contents will be destroyed or dispersed long before any debris can reach the surface.”

If the probe does cause any property damage, the Russian government is bound by international law to pay for it.