This is an artist's depiction of the Mars Polar Lander if it had reached the surface.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA

NASA Needs to Change Mars Program
News story originally written on March 29, 2000

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. Some of the problems found include:

  • A lack of funding.
  • A design flaw in the Polar Lander.
  • The two microprobes weren't designed well.
  • Some officials were extremely over-worked.

The panel also concluded the most likely cause of the Polar Lander disaster was a computer error. When the probe was told to lower its landing legs, the craft thought that meant it had landed. The engines were shut off when the lander was still 130 feet above the surface, resulting in a deadly crash into the Mars surface.

NASA is already starting to correct the problems the panel found. The "bigger, faster, cheaper" approach will most likely be scrapped. However, the goal of finding water on Mars and someday visiting the planet is still within reach. Future Mars missions will probably be delayed, but the program is still going strong.

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Oh No, Not Again!

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...more

Mars Odyssey

The Mars Odyssey was launched April 7, 2001, from Florida. After a six-month, 285 million-mile journey, the Odyssey arrived at Mars on October 24, 2001. The Odyssey is in its aerobraking phase right now....more

1999--A Year in Review...

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

STS-95 Launch: "Let the wings of Discovery lift us on to the future."

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

Moon Found Orbiting Asteroid

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

U.S. is Fed Up with Russia

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

More on Recent Coronal Mass Ejection

A coronal mass ejection (CME) happened on the Sun early last month. The material that was thrown out from this explosion passed the ACE spacecraft. The SWICS instrument on ACE has produced a new and very...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA