The Mars Observer spacecraft in the clean room.
Click on image for full size
NASA/JPL
Mars Observer
Mars Observer, also called MO for short, was sent to observe the weather, the magnetic field, and the
surface of Mars. It carried 8 different instruments.
But, MO failed on August 21, 1993. There was a fuel leak that caused the spacecraft to blow up!
NASA used what it had learned to create the successful Mars Global Surveyor mission. That just goes to show that you too can learn from your mistakes!
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