NASA's 'green' planetary test lander crashes

Friday - 8/10/2012, 8:14am  ET

In this still image made from video provided by NASA, the methane-powered Morpheus lander burns after it crashed in a test flight at Kennedy Space Center in Florida Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012. NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone says nobody was hurt, but it appears the prototype lander is a total loss. (AP Photo/NASA)

By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) - Earlier this week NASA safely landed a robotic rover on Mars about 150 million miles away. But on Thursday here on Earth, a test model planetary lander crashed and burned at Kennedy Space Center in Florida just seconds after liftoff.
The spider-like spacecraft called Morpheus was on a test flight at Cape Canaveral when it tilted, crashed to the ground and erupted in flames. It got only a few feet up in the air, NASA said.

MORE: http://www.wtop.com/256/2986398/NASAs-green-planetary-test-lander-crashes-

Sources: Associated Press, WTOP-FM 103.5 All-News Radio Washington, NASA

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