Missions in Space: Mars Global Surveyor
Launch - 7 November 1996
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) orbiter is the oldest Mars spacecraft currently in operation, and has been studying the red planet for nearly a decade. The probe arrived in orbit around Mars on 12 September 1997, and since then has returned more scientific data about the evolution of the red planet than all other Mars missions combined.
Artist's impression of Mars Global Surveyor looking down on Mons Olympus
© NASA
Mars Global Surveyor is a global mapping mission to examine the entire planet, from the ionosphere (an envelope of charged particles surrounding Mars) down through the atmosphere to the surface, and deep into Mars' interior. It does so by occupying a polar orbit (traveling over the north pole to the south pole and back to the north pole) once every two hours, twelve times a day, collecting detailed images from 400 kilometers (249 miles) above the martian surface.
MGS image showing wheel tracks left by the Mars Spirit Rover, and even the rover itself
© NASA
As part of the larger Mars Exploration programme, these images have been used by other rovers and lander missions to identify potential landing sites. They have even been used to spot craft on the surface once they have arrived (as above).
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