Mars Global Surveyor

Occurred 17 years ago

Type

Orbiter

Launch

Nov. 7, 1996

Target

Mars

Mission End

Nov. 14, 2006

Launched Nov. 7, 1996, Mars Global Surveyor became the first successful mission to the Red Planet in two decades. After a year and a half spent trimming its orbit from a looping ellipse to a circular track around the planet, the spacecraft began its prime mapping mission in March 1999. It observed Mars from a low-altitude, nearly polar orbit and operated four times as long as its originally planned prime mission. The mission's legacy includes gathering valuable science discoveries that overhauled our knowledge about Mars, and benefited future missions to the planet.

An illustration of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor at Mars.

NASA

What was Mars Global Surveyor?

Mars Global Surveyor was an orbiting spacecraft that looped around the Red Planet for a decade. The mission overhauled scientists' understanding of Mars by studying the entire Martian surface, atmosphere, and interior. Major findings included dramatic evidence that water still flows on Mars in short bursts down hillside gullies, and the identification of water-related mineral deposits leading to selection of a Mars rover landing site for a subsequent mission.
The mission continued sending images and other data until November 2006, when it went silent due to a series of events linked to a computer error likely caused by battery failure.

Quick Facts
MIssion Type	Orbiter
Spacecraft Mass	2,272 pounds (1,030.5 kilograms)
Launch Vehicle	Delta 7925 (no. D239)
Scientific Instruments	1. Mars Orbital Camera (MOC) 2. Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA) 3. Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) 4. Magnetometer/Electron Reflectometer (MAG/ER) 5. Radio Science Experiment (RS) 6. Mars Relay Antenna (MR)

Key Dates

Launch Date: Nov. 7, 1996 UTC

Orbit Insertion: Sept. 12, 1997

End of Mission: Nov. 14, 2006

Technologies of Broad Benefit

Each Mars mission is part of a continuing chain of innovation: each relies on past missions to identify needed new technologies and each contributes its own innovations to benefit future missions. This chain allows NASA to continue to push the boundaries of what is currently possible, while relying on proven technologies.

Learn More

Two views of Mars show a speher on the left in multiple shades of tan, orange, and gray, with the south pole covered and white, with fine details of craters and other landforms visible throughout. The view on the right shows the sphere almost entirely covered in a uniform haze of light tan, with only some of the lighter south pole visible outside of the dusty murk.

Two 2001 images from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter show a dramatic change in the planet's appearance when haze raised by dust-storm activity in the south became globally distributed.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Science

Mars Global Surveyor was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet – from the ionosphere (an envelope of charged particles surrounding Mars) down through the atmosphere to the surface, and deep into Mars' interior. As part of the larger Mars Exploration Program, Mars Global Surveyor performed atmospheric monitoring for sister orbiters during aerobraking, and it helped rovers and lander missions by identifying potential landing sites and relaying surface telemetry.

Topographic Map of Hellas Planitia: A colorized topographic map of the Martian impact basin Hellas, together with its surroundings, from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) instrument of the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University

Science Instruments

Mars Global Surveyor carried a complement of six scientific investigations to perform atmospheric monitoring for sister orbiters during aerobraking, and it helped subsequent rover and lander missions by identifying potential landing sites and relaying surface telemetry.