Mars lander smashed into ground at 540km/h after misjudging its altitude

Schiaparelli thought it had landed on Mars when in fact it was still 3.7km above the surface, says European Space Agency

A tiny lander that crashed on Mars last month flew into the red planet at 540km/h (335mph) instead of gently gliding to a stop, after a computer misjudged its altitude, the European Space Agency has said.

Schiaparelli was on a test-run for a future rover meant to seek out evidence of life, past or present, but it fell silent seconds before its scheduled touchdown on 19 October.