Mars Polar Lander

The official mission patch for the ill-fated Mars Polar Surveyor mission.

Overview

The Mars Polar Lander (MPL) was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force 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.