Phobos Grunt
© Sky NewsThe £105m Phobos-Grunt would have been Russia's first interplanetary mission since Soviet times
A Russian space probe that failed in its attempt to reach one of Mars' moons will crash back to Earth next month, officials have said.

The unmanned Phobos-Grunt craft was successfully launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in November.

However, the probe got stuck in Earth's orbit after its engines failed to fire up - quickly ending its planned journey toward the Red Planet.

Russia's space agency said it expects the Phobos-Grunt to plummet back through our atmosphere between January 6 and 19.

Toxic fuel from the craft will burn on its fiery re-entry, but several dozen fragments weighing up to 200kg (440lbs) will crash into the Earth's surface, officials said.

Where it will all land is not yet known however - with the agency explaining that the rough area where the probe's fragments will fall can only be calculated a few days ahead of its plunge.

The embarrassing failure of the probe was the latest in a series of problems that have raised concerns about the condition of Russia's space industries.

The £105m Phobos-Grunt would have been the country's first interplanetary mission since Soviet times.

It was originally set to blast off in October 2009, but its launch was postponed because the craft was not ready.

Scientists had hoped that studies of the moon's soil could help solve the mystery of its origin and shed more light on the genesis of the solar system.