NASA's Mars Polar Lander (MPL) is due to touch down on the Red Planet's south pole on 3 December. NASA is anxious for a successful landing after the failure of the sister ship - the Mars Climate Orbiter - on 23 September.
The 1.06m (3ft 6in) tall, 580kg (1,270lb) MPL spacecraft, which was launched on 3 January, will deploy two Deep Space 2 New Millennium Programme penetrator probes as it approaches Mars. The craft is scheduled to touch down at 76°S, 195°W, close to the layered terrain on the edge of the south polar cap.
Because of concerns that the lander's engine may be affected by low temperatures, propellant heaters will be turned on several hours before the firing (Flight International, 17-23 November). During the descent, the MPL will take images of the surface as it approaches, marking a first for a Mars lander. There have been only three previous soft landings on Mars - two Vikings in 1976 and the Mars Pathfinder in 1997.
During its planned 90-day $600 million mission, the MPL will take detailed images of the surface to help determine soil types and mineral composition. Using a robot arm, the craft will remove the surface to detect possible annual layers to a resolution of 1mm. Soil samples will be analysed to find evidence of water, ice, hydrates and other aqueously deposited minerals. The MPL will measure wind velocity, temperature, pressure and humidity and detect ice fog, surface frost or snow and ground ice formation and loss.
Source: Flight International
