7. A Countdown Glitch: Mars Climate Orbiter
In 1999, NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter mission was lost due to a navigation error caused by a failure to convert English units to metric. The spacecraft’s onboard software used metric units, while ground-based software used English units, leading to trajectory miscalculations. This discrepancy caused the spacecraft to enter Mars’ atmosphere at an incorrect altitude, resulting in its disintegration. The mission cost $327.6 million. For more details, refer to NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter page. (nasa.gov)
