Mars Global Surveyor

Launch Success

Liftoff Time (GMT)

17:00:00

Thursday November 7, 1996

Watch Replay

24/7 Coverage

Mission Details

Mars Global Surveyor

Wiki

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was an American robotic spacecraft developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched in November 1996. Mars Global Surveyor was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through the atmosphere to the surface. It completed its primary mission in January 2001 and was in its third extended mission phase when, on 2 November 2006, the spacecraft failed to respond to messages and commands. A faint signal was detected three days later which indicated that it had gone into safe mode. Attempts to re-contact the spacecraft and resolve the problem failed, and NASA officially ended the mission in January 2007. MGS remains in a stable near-polar circular orbit at about 450 km altitude and, as of 1996, was expected to crash onto the surface of the planet in 2050.

Heliocentric Orbit

1 Payload

1,031 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
Delta II 7925

Active 1990 to 2009

United Launch Alliance logo

Manufacturer

ULA

Rocket

Height: 38.1m

Payload to Orbit

GTO: 1,819 kg

Liftoff Thrust

3,511 Kilonewtons

Fairing

Diameter: 2.9m

Height: 8.49m

Stages

3

Strap-ons

9

Launch Site

SLC-17A

Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA

Fastest Turnaround

11 days 12 hours

Stats

Delta II


53rd

Mission

9th

Mission of 1996

1996


66th

Orbital launch attempt