Due to popular demand, Quicktime animations of the launches of the Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander are now available:

Mars Climate Orbiter
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/images/mcolaunch1.html

Mars Polar Lander
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/images/mpllaunch1.html

The Quicktime animations are about 28 MB in size each, and includes both audio and video. The animations run for about 5 minutes, and includes the launch countdown and the spectacular video sequence from the camera mounted on the first stage of the Delta II rocket.

The Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft was launched on a Delta II rocket on December 11, 1998. The orbiter's instruments will monitor the Martian atmosphere. and image the planet's surface on a daily basis for 687 Earth days. It will observe the appearance and movement of atmospheric dust and water vapor, as well as characterize seasonal changes on the surface.

The Mars Polar Lander spacecraft was launched on a Delta II rocket on January 3, 1999. The lander is a solar-powered spacecraft designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south polar cap, which consists carbon dioxide ice. The lander will study the polar water cycle, frosts, water vapor, condensates and dust in the Martian atmosphere.

Ron Baalke
Mars Surveyor 98 Webmaster