Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Global Surveyor was NASA's first successful Mars mission since Viking in 1976 and a global mapping mission that studied the planet's surface, atmosphere, ionosphere, and interior while supporting later Mars spacecraft through atmospheric monitoring, landing-site reconnaissance, and relay services.
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Identity
- Aliases
- MGS missionMars Global Surveyor orbiter mission
- Name
- Mars Global Surveyor
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Mars Global Surveyor was NASA's first successful Mars mission since Viking in 1976 and a global mapping mission that studied the planet's surface, atmosphere, ionosphere, and interior while supporting later Mars spacecraft through atmospheric monitoring, landing-site reconnaissance, and relay services.
- Destination
- Mars orbit after aerobraking for global mapping from the ionosphere through the interior, atmospheric monitoring, landing-site reconnaissance, and relay support for later surface missions
- End Date
- 2006-11-14
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Mars Global Surveyor operated in Mars orbit from 1997 until November 14, 2006. It produced the first global high-resolution topographic map of another planet, documented water-related minerals and recent surface processes, monitored Martian weather, and helped select landing sites and relay data for later missions.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1996-11-07
- Vehicle Families
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 30, 2026 at 20:03:14 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 25, 2026 at 03:49:28 UTC
- Image
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Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles