FOLLOW THE FAILURE
How a fault became an incident.
A condensed sequence, not a minute-by-minute reconstruction.
- 01THE TRIGGER
Different unit conventions
- 02THE FAILURE SPREADS
Trajectory data misinterpreted
- 03THE CONSEQUENCE
Mission lost
- 04THE AFTERMATHRead the recovery and its limits ↓
Trajectory data misinterpreted
Explicit units and interface checks make an agreement executable rather than relying only on shared understanding.
Editorial interpretation of the failure pattern.01 / THE INCIDENT
What happened
NASA lost contact with Mars Climate Orbiter as it approached the planet. The mission was intended to study the Martian atmosphere and relay communications.
Evidence: NASA · Mission overview ↗02 / THE FAILURE CHAIN
Why it happened
Ground software supplied force data in English units where metric units were expected. The mismatch corrupted trajectory calculations.
Which important value crosses a team boundary without a checked unit or range?
03 / THE AFTERMATH
Recovery—and its limits
The spacecraft was not recovered. The investigation turned attention to interface agreements and verification across teams.
04 / TAKE IT WITH YOU
Where could the chain break?
Safeguards to investigate—not a claim that one change would certainly have prevented this incident.
Go to the source.
A condensed editorial account. The lessons are our interpretation, not quotations. Consult the primary source for the full technical record.
NASA · Mission overview ↗