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Mars Polar Lander
Sign in to saveAlso known as Mars Surveyor '98 Lander
robotic spacecraft lander launched by NASA on January 3, 1999
Key facts
- Names
- Mars Surveyor '98 Lander
- Mission type
- Mars lander
- Operator
- NASA / JPL
- Cospar id
- 1999-001A
- Website
- science.nasa.gov
- Mission duration
- 334 days, Mission failure
- Manufacturer
- Martin Marietta
- Launch mass
- 290 kg (640 lb)
- Power
- 200 W solar array and NiH , 2 battery
- Launch date
- 20:21:10, January 3, 1999 (UTC) ( 1999-01-03T20:21:10Z )
- Rocket
- Delta II 7425–9.5, D-265
- Launch site
- Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SLC-17A
- Contractor
- Boeing
- Disposal
- Communication failure after landing
- Declared
- January 17, 2000 ( 2000-01-17 )
- Last contact
- 20:00, December 3, 1999 (UTC) ( 1999-12-03T20:00:00Z )
- Impact date
- ~20:15 UTC ERT , December 3, 1999
- Impact site
- Ultimi Scopuli , 76°S 195°W / 76°S 195°W / -76; -195 ( Mars Polar Lander ) (projected)
via Wikipedia infobox
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Mars Polar Lander, also known as the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander, was a 290-kilogram uncrewed spacecraft lander launched by NASA on January 3, 1999, to study the soil and climate of Planum Australe, a region near the south pole on Mars. It formed part of the Mars Surveyor '98 mission. On December 3, 1999, however, after the descent phase was expected to be complete, the lander failed to reestablish communication with Earth. A post-mortem analysis determined the most likely cause of the mishap was premature termination of the engine firing prior to the lander touching the surface, causing it to strike the planet at a high velocity.
The total cost of the Mars Polar Lander was US$165 million. Spacecraft development cost US$110 million, launch was estimated at US$45 million, and mission operations at US$10 million.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mars Polar Lander” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Gallery (12)
On the map
3 mapped locations