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This animation is a simulation of the reconfiguration of the solar arrays on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft for Aerobraking. This reconfiguration occurs each time the spacecraft begins a drag pass through the Martian atmosphere. Mars Global Surveyor uses Aerobraking to decrease its altitude and circularize its orbit about Mars. The reversal of the minus x-axis solar panel is a result of that panel not latching after initial deployment just after launch. The animation was generated by the JPL Dview software, developed by Dr. Patti M. Koenig of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, running on a Silicon Graphics workstation.