Mars Polar Lander / Deep Space 2
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 on arrival Dec. 3, 1999.
Type
Launch
Target
Objective
Quick Facts
Jan. 3, 1999: Launch
Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Dec. 3, 1999: Mars arrival and last contact
News and Features
Discover More Topics From NASA
James Webb Space Telescope
Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…
Perseverance Rover
This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial…
Parker Solar Probe
On a mission to "touch the Sun," NASA's Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona…
Juno
NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet's dense clouds to…