| NASA Center: |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Image # : |
M98ORBITER |
|---|
| Date : |
05/27/1998
|
|---|
|
Title
Mars Climate Orbiter
Full Description
The Mars Surveyor '98 Climate Orbiter is shown here during acoustic tests that
simulate launch conditions.
The orbiter was to conduct a two year primary mission to profile the
Martian atmosphere and map the surface. To carry out these scientific
objectives, the spacecraft carried a rebuilt version of the pressure
modulated infrared radiometer, lost with the Mars Observer spacecraft,
and a miniaturized dual camera system the size of a pair of binoculars,
provided by Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., San Diego, California.
During its primary mission, the orbiter was to monitor Mars atmosphere
and surface globally on a daily basis for one Martian year (two Earth
years), observing the appearance and movement of atmospheric dust and
water vapor, as well as characterizing seasonal changes of the planet's
surface. Imaging of the surface morphology would also provide important
clues about the planet's climate in its early history.
The mission was part of NASA's Mars Surveyor program, a sustained
program of robotic exploration of the red planet, managed by the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington,
DC. Lockheed Martin Astronautics was NASA's industrial partner in the
mission.
Unfortunately, Mars Climate Orbiter burned up in the Martian atmosphere on
September 23, 1999, due to a metric conversion error that caused the spacecraft
to be off course.
Keywords
Mars Suveyor 98 Climate Orbiter Lockheed Martin Astronautics Denver Colorado Malin Space Science Systems
Subject Category
Planet-Mars, Mars Probes,
Reference Numbers
- Center:
JPL
- Center Number:
M98ORBITER
- GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2000-000498
Source Information
- Creator/Photographer: Lockheed Martin
- Original Source: DIGITAL
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| Large |
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