Strikes me as a total crock. I'm amazed how much stuff works great as it is, actually.
The Russians/Soviets have lost an AMAZING number of Mars Probes, a higher percentage than us, for example.
Let us not forget the more recent failures, ie, the last Mars mission cycle - the Japanese craft that got fatally zapped
by a solar eruption, and the Beagle II, just off the top of my head.