The Mars microprobes are mounted on the lander

[KSC-98PC-1645]

  • Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1645

  • Release Date: 10-Nov-1998

    • Description: In the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility -2 (SAEF- 2), JPL workers mount a Mars microprobe onto the Mars Polar Lander. Two microprobes will hitchhike on the lander, scheduled to be launched Jan. 3, 1999, aboard a Delta II rocket. The solar- powered spacecraft is designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south pole in order to study the water cycle there. The lander also will help scientists learn more about climate change and current resources on Mars, studying such things as frost, dust, water vapor and condensates in the Martian atmosphere. The Mars microprobes, called Deep Space 2, are part of NASA's New Millennium Program. They will complement the climate-related scientific focus of the lander by demonstrating an advanced, rugged microlaser system for detecting subsurface water. Such data on polar subsurface water, in the form of ice, should help put limits on scientific projections for the global abundance of water on Mars.

    Resolution Format Width
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    Thumbnail GIF 100 67 10231
    Slide GIF 172 148 36670
    Low GIF 320 213 97160
    Medium JPEG 1024 683 162596
    High JPEG 2617 1745 1467053

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    Photos By: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Scanned By: Bionetics and NASA/KSC Public Affairs Office
    Captions: Sherikon Space Systems
    Curator: NASA/KSC Internet Systems Lab (Dumoulin, Downs, Paladino)
    Last Updated: Friday August 13 18:35:50 EDT 1998 (Kay Grinter)

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