MPL included a spacecraft bus section (for power, propulsion, and communications during the outbound voyage) and a 639-pound (290-kilogram) lander that was about 3.5 feet (1.06 meters) tall. MPL was to have performed its mission simultaneously with that of the Mars Climate Orbiter, which would have acted as a communications relay during its surface operations. The mission also called for recording meteorological conditions, analyzing samples of polar deposits, and taking multispectral images. The objective was to explore the never-before studied carbon dioxide ice cap, about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the south pole. MPL’s primary goal was to deploy a lander and two penetrators, known as Deep Space 2, on the surface of Mars to extend our knowledge of the planet’s past and present water resources. The Mars Polar Lander (MPL) was one of NASA’s Mars Surveyor missions that called for a series of small, low-cost spacecraft for sustained exploration of Mars. 17, 2000: NASA terminated all attempts to establish contact with the lost lander In Depth: Mars Polar Lander / Deep Space 2 16, 1999: NASA used Mars Global Surveyor to look for the lander, but didn't find it 3, 1999: Mars arrival and last contactĭec. Light Detection and Ranging Instrument (LIDAR)ĭec. Thermal and Evolved has Analyzer (TEGA)ħ. The Phoenix lander, which arrived on Mars in 2008, eventually completed most of Mars Polar Lander's objectives.Ĭape Canaveral, Fla.The Deep Space 2 probes were nicknamed Amundsen and Scott after the famed human explorers who led expeditions to Earth's South Pole. All three probes crashed after a sensor malfunction. Piggybacking on the lander were two small probes called Deep Space 2 meant to impact the surface to test new technologies. NASA’s Mars Polar Lander was designed to land near Mars' south polar cap to dig for water-ice with a robotic arm.
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