Mission directory

Mars Observer

Mars Observer, the first of the Observer series of planetary missions, was designed to study the geoscience and climate of Mars. Its primary science objectives were to determine the global elemental and mineralogical character of the surface material, define globally the topography and gravitational field, establish the nature of the Martian magnetic field, determine the distribution and abundance of volatiles and dust over a seasonal cycle, and explore the structure and circulation of the atmosphere. Contact with Mars Observer was lost on August 21, 1993, three days before scheduled orbit insertion, for unknown reasons and has not been re-established; it is not known whether the spacecraft was able to follow its automatic programming and go into Mars orbit or if it flew by Mars and is now in a heliocentric orbit. Although none of the primary objectives of the mission were achieved, cruise mode data were collected up to loss of contact.

Agency

NASA-Office of Space Science Applications · Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales · Russian Space Agency

Destination

Mars

Trajectory

Trajectory unavailable

• Orbiter