Mars Polar Lander

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The Mars Polar Lander was launched on January 3, 1999. The probe was supposed to collect samples of Mars' soil using its 6.5-foot robotic arm and analyze the soil to see whether it contained any water. It was also supposed to take pictures of the landing site and to send sounds from Mars to Earth.

The Landing Site

The Mars Polar Lander would enter the atmosphere at a speed of 15,700 mph, and friction would begin to slow the capsule down. As it fell to the ground, it was going to take 10 pictures of the landing site so space engineers can send probes more safely in the future. The Mars Polar Lander would hit the ground at a speed of 2.2 mph.

Goals

The goals for the Mars Polar Lander’s were:

Take pictures of the landing site so scientists can send future probes more safely
Discover what type of soil Mars has and find out what its made out of
Study the soil to see if it contains water.
Image of Mars at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/index.html courtesy of NASA. Permission at http://www.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/guideline.html

The primary goal of the Mars Polar Lander was to study water on the planet to see if enough water is available for life to exist and how it affects the weather and climate on the planet. If there is life existing on Mars, life may be possible on other planets in the universe.

Some scientists believe liquid water and life may have existed at one point in time on Mars. Some even believe Mars had an enormous ocean billions of years ago.

Mission Failure

On December 3, 1999 the Mars Polar Lander malfunctioned as it entered Mars' atmosphere. NASA lost contact with the Mars Polar Lander and doesn’t know what happened to it. It may have crashed into the planet or tipped over somehow when it landed. NASA says it may never know what happened to the lander or where it is.

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Space Exploration of the Past, Present, and Future
Bartlett Elementary School 2000