Mars Polar Lander / Deep Space 2
past Mission
Type
Lander, Probe
Launch
Jan. 3, 1999
Target
Mars
Objective
Deploy a lander and two penetrators on Mars
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.
![An illustration of a spacecraft lander on Mars, showing a thre-legged craft sitting on a desert landscape of brown and light orange soil dotted with patches of white ice. The craft .carries V-shaped solar panels attached to its laft and right sides, a camera atop a scaffold rising from the craft's top deck, and a spindly robot arm in back with a small scoop at its end.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1699_mpl_768.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
An illustration of NASA's Mars Polar Lander on the surface of Mars.
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech
Quick Facts
Jan. 3, 1999: Launch
Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Dec. 3, 1999: Mars arrival and last contact
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