Mars Polar Lander was an ambitious mission to set a spacecraft down on the frigid terrain near the edge of Mars' south polar cap and dig for water ice with a robotic arm. Piggybacking on the lander were two small probes called Deep Space 2 designed to impact the Martian surface to test new technologies.
Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2 were lost at arrival December 3, 1999.
Mars Polar Lander
Mass: 576 kilograms (1,270 pounds), fueled
Science instruments: Mars volatiles and climate surveyor (integrated package with surface imager, robotic arm with camera, meteorology package, and thermal and evolved gas analyzer); Mars descent imager; lidar (including Mars microphone)
Deep Space 2
Mass: 3,572 grams (7.9 pounds)
Science instruments: Sample collection/water detection experiment, soil thermal experiment, atmospheric descent accelerometer, impact accelerometer
Launch: January 3, 1999
Lost on arrival: December 3, 1999
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+ Mars 98 press kit (PDF)
+ Deep Space 2-archived site
+ Mars Polar Lander-archived site
+ Mars Exploration
