The Mars Polar Lander during tests. It made it to Mars, but failed to make contact with Earth.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA
Oh No, Not Again!
News story originally written on December 9, 1999
It appears that disaster has struck yet again. The Mars Polar Lander, which landed on the Red Planet on December 3, 1999, has yet to regain contact with Earth. Scientists have watched six chances for contact pass by, leaving many to believe the spacecraft was lost.
Another failed mission will put NASA under more scrutiny. The program lost the Mars Climate Orbiter in September because of a math error. The estimated cost of the Polar Lander program is $165 million, which is actually cheap in terms of space projects. The Climate Orbiter is part of the new line of cheaper, faster, better spacecraft. But now it seems that NASA may be ahead of its time.
To make matter worse, the two probes aboard the Lander have also failed to contact Earth. Scientists say that even if the probes were working, they would no longer be sending signals because the batteries should be dead. The probes were supposed to crash into Mars and burrow into the ground to look for water.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes
books on science education, ranging from
evolution,
classroom research, and the
need for science and math literacy!
You might also be interested in:
Scientists still don't know what caused the Mars Polar Lander to fail, but they aren't ruling out a deep canyon near the landing site. A recent article in the Post suggested scientists didn't know the
...more Just when everyone had given up hope, a faint signal was received at Stanford University. Scientists say it most likely came from Mars, although they won't know for sure until later this week. The signals
...more
It was another exciting and frustrating year for the space science program. It seemed that every step forward led to one backwards. Either way, NASA led the way to a great century of discovery. Unfortunately,
...more
A panel made up of aerospace experts studied NASA's recent ventures into space, including the Mars Climate Orbiter and Polar Lander. The results of the study aren't very friendly to the NASA organization.
...more
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on October 29th at 2:19 p.m. EST. The weather was great as Discovery took 8 1/2 minutes to reach orbit. This was the United States' 123rd
...more
A moon was discovered orbiting the asteroid, Eugenia. This is only the second time in history that a satellite has been seen circling an asteroid. A special mirror allowed scientists to find the moon
...more
Will Russia ever put the service module for the International Space Station in space? NASA officials want an answer from the Russian government. The necessary service module is currently waiting to be
...more
