The United States has officially refused to take part in an investigation into the causes of the failure of the Phobos Grunt automatic interplanetary apparatus, Roscosmos Deputy chief Anatoly Shilov told journalists on Thursday, ITAR-TASS reports.

It was an attempted Russian return mission to Phobos, one of the moons of Mars.

Roscomos made an official proposal to the United States to take part in the investigation, but the U.S. side refused, Shilov said.

During an investigation into the causes of the failure of the Phobos-Grunt interplanetary station different versions were studied, including a version that the Russian interplanetary station might have been affected by a U.S. radar. This version was studied on ground facilities, Shilov confirmed.

A special commission for the investigation into the causes of the failure of the automatic interplanetary station has completed its work, Shilov said. The commission members have signed a final conclusion on the causes of the mission’s failure, Shilov added. On Sunday the conclusion will be submitted to Roscosmos Chief Vladimir Popovkin and next week it will be published in the press, Shilov said.

Russkiy Mir Foundation Information Service