Launch Success
Liftoff Time (GMT)
20:21:00
Sunday January 3, 1999
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The Mars Polar Lander, also known as the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander, was a robotic spacecraft lander launched by NASA on January 3, 1999, to study the soil and climate of Planum Australe, a region near the south pole on Mars. It formed part of the Mars Surveyor '98 mission. The launch mass of the spacecraft is approximately 583 kg, including 64 kg of fuel, an 82 kg cruise stage, a 140 kg aeroshell/heatshield, and the two 3.5 kg microprobes. On December 3, 1999, however, after the descent phase was expected to be complete, the lander failed to reestablish communication with Earth. A post-mortem analysis determined the most likely cause of the mishap was the premature termination of the engine firing prior to the lander touching the surface, causing it to strike the planet at a high velocity.
Heliocentric Orbit
1 Payload
583 kilograms
Manufacturer
ULARocket
Height: 38.1m
Payload to Orbit
GTO: 1,110 kg
Liftoff Thrust
3,020 Kilonewtons
Fairing
Diameter: 2.9m
Height: 8.49m
Stages
3
Strap-ons
4
78th
Mission
1st
Mission of 1999
1st
Orbital launch attempt