Mars Observer

Launched successfully on September 25, 1992 by Titan IIIe-TOS from Cape Canaveral, the spacecraft cruised well right up to Mars, but lost contact just at its arrival on August 21, 1993, when it was to ignite its thrusters to enter Mars orbit. Its fate is unknown: It may have blown up during ignition, destroyed by meteorite, or simply frozen after having lost orientation.

Despite the loss of the spacecraft, many of the hardware developed for it is and will be used for other spacecraft, including the Mars Global Surveyor, the Mars Climate Orbiter (1998), the Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter 2001 Mars Odyssey, and in particular the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005).

Links:

• Mars Observer Images from its interplanetary cruise and information at Malin Space Science Systems
• Mars Observer page at HEASARC (GSFC/Nasa)
• Mars Observer info (NSSDC)

• Mars Observer Spacecraft [22k gif, caption]; 307k gif, 94k gif
• Mars Observer is launched by its Titan III E launcher rocket: 49k jpg, caption
• First Approach image of Mars from Mars Observer [caption]
• Second Approach images of Mars from Mars Observer [caption]
• Best Mars image by Mars Observer during its approach, taken 28 days before the planned orbit insertion
• Wide-angle color image of Mars from Mars Observer [caption]
• Alpha Centauri, imaged by the Mars Observer spacecraft [2k gif; caption]
• Jupiter as photographed by Mars Observer [5k gif; caption]

Last Modification: February 14, 2014