The NASA Mars Pathfinder Mission

The Mars Surveyor '98 mission will be the next generation of spacecraft to be sent to Mars. Consisting of an orbiter (to be launched this December) and a lander (to be launched in January 1999), the mission has a science theme of Volatiles and Climate History. The orbiter will observe the Martian climate from a 400 km near polar mapping orbit, characterizing the Martian atmospheric temperature, dust, water vapor, and quantifying surface radiative balance. The orbiter has a two-year mapping mission, and a five-year data relay mission. The Mars '98 lander will land near the southern polar cap on Mars, carrying instruments for meteorology imaging, and soil composition. The primary mission of the lander is 90 days. A robotic arm will dig a trench and collect soil samples for later analysis, Two small microprobes are also piggybacking on the lander. These microprobes will separate from the lander during entry into the Martian atmosphere and punch into the soil to determine if water ice is present. The microprobes will also measure sol temperature and monitor local Martian weather.