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Mars satellite passes critical point
September 9, 1997
Web posted at: 3:36 p.m. EDT (1936 GMT)PASADENA, California (CNN) -- Two days before its scheduled arrival, a Mars-mapping satellite survived a critical test of its ability to make it the rest of the way.
The Mars Global Surveyor on Tuesday signaled controllers on Earth that it had successfully pressurized its main rocket engines and was prepared to enter into Mars orbit.
Over the course of four months, controllers will modify that orbit so that it dips into the upper reaches of the Martian atmosphere. The series of maneuvers, called aerobraking, will result in a nearly circular orbit about 234 miles above the planet.
"We connected the spacecraft's oxydizer tank to its propulsion system and pressurized the entire propulsion system," said Glenn Cunningham, manager of the Global Surveyor project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena.
"These operations seemed to be very successful and the spacecraft is excellent health at this time," he told reporters at a news briefing.
NASA's Glenn Cunningham explains Surveyor firsts: 
258K/23 sec. AIFF or WAV sound In 1993 another spacecraft, the Mars Observer, was lost in space shortly after pressurization and three days before it was supposed to begin orbitting.
Surveyor is scheduled to slip into orbit around Mars about 10:15 p.m. EDT on Thursday to begin its two-year mission: to draw detailed maps of the planet's surface and to seek out the most likely spots where life could have developed.
Watch the NASA news briefing
The crucial moment for the Global Surveyor comes about seven hours earlier (3:30 p.m. EDT) when it is scheduled to fire its engines slow down and enter an elliptical orbit, explained JPL's Joseph Beerer, flight operations manager for the mission.
"When our spacecraft reaches Mars ... it will be traveling at 11,000 miles an hour with respect to the planet," he told the news briefing. "We need to slow down by 2,200 miles an hour. To do this, we'll fire our main engine for almost 23 minutes."
Global Surveyor, launched November 7 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, comes on the heels of the highly successful Mars Pathfinder program, which sent back spectacular photographs of the surface of Mars.
Correspondent John Holliman contributed to this report.
- CNN In-Depth: Space
Related story:
- Global Surveyor prepares to enter Mars atmosphere - September 8, 1997
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- Mars Global Surveyor
- Mars Exploration Program - Pathfinder, Global Surveyor, and other information from NASA
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