The European Space Agency acknowledged in a statement on Friday that the lander Schiaparelli has crashed into Mars as it approached the red planet's surface at a much faster rate than expected.
The ESA said that it estimated Schiaparelli fell from a height of two to four kilometers and struck Mars at considerable speed, over 300 kilometers per hour (186 mph), the agency said.
"It is also possible that the lander exploded on impact, as its thruster propellant tanks were likely still full," the ESA said in a statement.
According to the statement, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has identified new markings on Mars' surface that are believed to coincide with the spot where Schiaparelli crash-landed onto the surface.
The agency said that contact with the lander was lost shortly before its expected touchdown.
Data recorded by the lander's mothership, the Trace Gas Orbiter, was being studied to gain an understanding of what happened during the descent sequence.
The image released Friday has a resolution of six meters per pixel and shows two new features on the surface of Mars compared to an image of the same spot taken by the same camera in May, the statement said.
Source: EFE
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