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Mars Global Surveyor 98
From a NASA animation of the orbiter LAUNCH DATE: December 10, 1998
COST: $187 million plus estimated launch costs of $25 million to $30 million.
OVERVIEWThe Mars Surveyor 98 mission comprises two spacecraft: the orbiter, launching in December, and the lander, which is to follow on January 3, 1999. While the Lander is on Mars' surface, the Orbiter will provide command and data relay support.
Goals of the lander's three-month science mission include investigating the planet's climate history and searching for near-surface ice.
A NASA depiction of the Mars lander as approaches the Martian surface During its two-year mapping phase, the orbiter will perform systematic daily global sounding and imaging of Mars' atmosphere.
Its payload will include the Pressure Modular Infared Radiometer and the Mars Color Imager to perform the climatic and atmospheric imaging and mapping.
The orbiter is scheduled to go into a 400 kilometer orbit around Mars in September 1999. The orbiter will continue operations in a relay-only mode following the science mission in support of any future U.S. or international Mars surface missions. The Global Surveyor portion of its mission is scheduled to end on December 1, 2004.
NASA link: Mars Surveyor 98 Home Page
Main Story | Glenn Returns to Space | International Space Station
Mars Surveyor 98 | Stardust | Deep Space 1 & 2
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