Difference between revisions of "Mars Polar Lander"
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==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
| − | The '''Mars Polar Lander''' (MPL) was launched from [[Cape Canaveral Air | + | The '''Mars Polar Lander''' (MPL) was launched from [[Cape Canaveral Air Station]] Space Launch Complex 17 (SLC-17) on a [[Delta II|Boeing Delta II]] rocket on January 3, 1999. The lander was scheduled for a soft landing in the south-polar region of the planet. Contact was lost with the lander during its descent onto the Martian surface on December 3, 1999, and after a series of efforts to communicate with the spacecraft failed, on January 17, 2000, the [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]], who managed the mission, declared it a loss. |
==Mission Facts== | ==Mission Facts== | ||
Revision as of 11:43, 21 April 2007
Overview
The Mars Polar Lander (MPL) was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Station Space Launch Complex 17 (SLC-17) on a Boeing Delta II rocket on January 3, 1999. The lander was scheduled for a soft landing in the south-polar region of the planet. Contact was lost with the lander during its descent onto the Martian surface on December 3, 1999, and after a series of efforts to communicate with the spacecraft failed, on January 17, 2000, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who managed the mission, declared it a loss.
Mission Facts
Spacecraft Dimensions: 3.5 feet (1.06 meters) tall by 12 feet (3.6 meters) wide.
Spacecraft Weight:
- Total: 576 kg (1,270 pounds)
- Lander: 290 kg (639 pounds)
- Propellant: 64 kg (141 pounds)
- Cruise Stage: 82 kg (181 pounds)
- Aeroshell & Heat Shield: 140 kg (309 pounds)
Science Instruments:
- Deep Space 2 Microprobes
- Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS), consisting of surface imager, robotic arm, meteorology package, and thermal and evolved gas analyzer.
- Mars Descent Imager (MARDI)
- Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) and Mars Microphone
Misc: A CDROM with over 932,000 names is carried on the lander.
