NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft entered orbit around the Red Planet on 11 September, marking the second success for the US space agency after the mission of the Mars Pathfinder and its Sojourner Rover on the planet's surface, starting on 4 July (Flight International, 20-26 August). The Lockheed Martin-built MGS will trim its initial, elliptical, 45h orbit, employing an aerobraking technique by using the drag of the planet's atmosphere to lower its orbit without the thrusters firings. The craft will begin its operational mission on 15 March, 1998 from a low, 2h, Sun-synchronous polar orbit.
Source: Flight International
