Mars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2 | Missions

Mars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2

Artist's concept of the Mars Polar Lander

Mars Polar Lander was an ambitious mission to set a spacecraft down on the frigid terrain near the edge of Mars' south polar cap and dig for water ice with a robotic arm. Piggybacking on the lander were two small probes called Deep Space 2 designed to impact the Martian surface to test new technologies.

Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2 were lost at arrival December 3, 1999.

Mission Fact Sheet

The agency established the board in May 2023 to evaluate the technical, cost, and schedule plans prior to confirmation of the mission’s design.

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