Mars Climate Orbiter Annotated
Date: 23 Sep 1999

An annotated version of the artist's image of Mars Climate Orbiter.


Mars Climate Orbiter mission was to study Mars from orbit with cameras and atmospheric instruments. It also was designed to serve as a communications relay for the Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2 probes.


Communications were lost as the spacecraft prepared to enter orbit around Mars. An investigation found the spacecraft burned up in Mars' atmosphere due to a navigation error caused by the failure to translate English units to Metric.


Image Credit: NASA/JPL