At this time within the historical past of astronomy, the MGS orbiter’s observing profession involves an in depth after a fruitful decade.
In its 10-year mission, Mars International Surveyor (seen on this artist’s rendering) returned extra pictures of Mars than all earlier missions to the Pink Planet mixed. Credit score: NASA
- The Mars International Surveyor (MGS) launched on November 7, 1996, coming into Mars orbit on September 12, 1997, with the first goal of comprehensively finding out the planet’s ambiance, inside, and floor.
- Over its nine-year operational interval, considerably exceeding its two-year deliberate mission, MGS documented Mars’ geological dynamism, analyzed its water historical past, tracked polar ice actions, and studied its topography and climate.
- MGS amassed almost 200,000 pictures, surpassing the mixed photographic output of all previous Mars missions, and performed an important position in informing the planning of future Pink Planet rover missions.
- The mission formally concluded on November 14, 2006, following communication difficulties reported on November 2 and subsequent sign loss, attributed by NASA to a battery failure resulting in a pc error.
Designed to check Mars in a complete means, analyzing its ambiance, its inside, and its floor, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) launched Nov. 7, 1996. By Sept. 12, 1997, it might attain Mars and slip into orbit across the Pink Planet. Over the subsequent 9 years, it revealed an evolving world of ongoing geological dynamism, analyzed the historical past of water on Mars, tracked the actions of ice at its poles, and analyzed its topography and climate. With almost 200,000 pictures captured, MGS provided extra pictures of Mars than all of the missions earlier than it – mixed. It additionally helped NASA plan for future rover missions to the Pink Planet.
MGS considerably exceeded its two-year mission, however on Nov. 2, 2006, the orbiter signaled to NASA that it was experiencing difficulties with its photo voltaic panels. Two days with out communication adopted. On Nov. 5, extra indicators have been despatched, after which MGS went silent. The mission formally ended on Nov. 14, with NASA concluding a battery failure had induced a pc error that closed out MGS’s tour.
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