 | |
| Mission type | Mars orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA / JPL |
| COSPAR ID | 1996-062A |
| SATCAT no. | 24648 |
| Website | science.nasa.gov |
| Mission duration | 9 years, 11 months and 26 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 1,030.5 kg (2,272 lb)[1] |
| Power | 980 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 7 November 1996, 17:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Delta II 7925 D-239 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral LC-17A |
| Contractor | Boeing IDS |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Derelict |
| Declared | 28 January 2007 |
| Last contact | 2 November 2006 |
| Decay date | 2050 (estimated) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Areocentric |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous |
| Semi-major axis | 3,769 km (2,342 mi)[2] |
| Eccentricity | 0.008[2] |
| Periareion altitude | 372.8 km (231.6 mi)[2] |
| Apoareion altitude | 436.5 km (271.2 mi)[2] |
| Inclination | 92.9 degrees[2] |
| Period | 1.95 hours[2] |
| Epoch | 10 December 2004 |
| Mars orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 11 September 1997, 01:17 UTC MSD 43972 16:29 AMT |
| |
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through the atmosphere to the surface.[1] As part of the larger Mars Exploration Program, Mars Global Surveyor performed atmospheric monitoring for sister orbiters during aerobraking, and helped Mars rovers and lander missions by identifying potential landing sites and relaying surface telemetry.[1]
It completed its primary mission in January 2001 and was in its third extended mission phase when, on 2 November 2006, the spacecraft failed to respond to messages and commands. A faint signal was detected three days later which indicated that it had gone into safe mode. Attempts to recontact the spacecraft and resolve the problem failed, and NASA officially ended the mission in January 2007.[3] MGS remains in a stable near-polar circular orbit at about 450 km altitude and as of 1996, was expected to crash onto the surface of the planet in 2050.[4]