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The program was suppose to consist of spacecraft to be launched about every 26 months. The launchings were designed to take advantage of periods when the Earth and Mars were closest together. The spacecraft were named: Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars '98, Mars 2001, Mars 2003, and Mars 2005. The Pathfinder mission was a huge success. And the Mars Global Surveyor is still taking measurements. However, the Mars '98 Orbiter and Lander were lost. After this great disappointment, NASA saw a need to rethink Mars exploration. This concluded the Mars Surveyor Program. In 2000, a new Mars Exploration Program was announced. This new program includes the Mars Odyssey 2001 mission which was launched in April 2001. It also provides for five other major Mars missions in the next decade. NASA plans to launch twin rovers which will land on Mars in 2003 and a powerful scientific orbiter to be launched in 2005. A mobile science laboratory and the first of several smaller Scout missions are planned for 2007. Wrapping up this phase of exploration would be a sample return mission possibly as early as 2011.
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Mars Global Surveyor Image Archive
The program was suppose to consist of spacecraft that would be launched about every 26 months. The spacecraft were named: Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars '98, Mars 2001, Mars 2003, and Mars 2005. The Pathfinder mission was a huge success. And the Mars Global Surveyor is still taking measurements. However, the Mars '98 Orbiter and Lander were lost. After this great loss, NASA saw a need to rethink Mars exploration. This concluded the Mars Surveyor Program. In 2000, a new Mars Exploration Program was announced. This new program includes the Mars Odyssey 2001 mission which was launched in April 2001. It also provides for five other major Mars missions in the next decade. NASA plans to launch twin rovers which will land on Mars in 2003 and a powerful scientific orbiter to be launched in 2005. A mobile science laboratory and the first of several smaller Scout missions are planned for 2007. Wrapping up this phase of exploration would be a sample return mission possibly as early as 2011. A sample return mission is where rocks and dirt would be brought back to Earth from the surface of Mars. Cool!
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Mars Global Surveyor Image Archive
The Surveyor Program was suppose to consist of 8 spacecraft. The spacecraft were named: Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars '98, Mars 2001, Mars 2003, and Mars 2005. The Pathfinder mission was a huge success. And the Mars Global Surveyor is still taking measurements. But, the Mars '98 Orbiter and Lander were lost in space!
So, NASA ended the Mars Surveyor program. They took some time to rethink things. Then, in 2000, NASA announced a new Mars Exploration Program. This new program started with the Mars Odyssey 2001 mission which was launched in April 2001. It also includes rovers and a sample return mission in the next 10 years. A sample return mission is where rocks and dirt would be brought back to Earth from the surface of Mars. Cool!
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Mars Global Surveyor Image Archive
