Where is the Mars Polar Lander? Maybe you can locate it?

William Atkins
Saturday, 17 May 2008 19:12

Opinion and Analysis

Such failures of these two spacecraft--Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter--to reach their final destinations are sobering signs of just how difficult it is to successfully land or orbit an unmanned vehicle on or about Mars.

A large percentage of spacecraft have failed in the past to complete their missions to or about Mars.

However, we’re getting better.

The Spirit and Opportunity Rovers were successfully transported from Earth to Mars in the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission and are currently exploring (roving) on the surface of Mars.

The next spacecraft to attempt this mission is the NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, which is scheduled to land in the northern polar region on Sunday, May 25, 2008.

Additional information about the mission is found in the iTWire article "Phoenix Mars Lander near journey's end."

It is now 2008 and the United States (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA), China (China National Space Administration, CNSA), the European Union (European Space Agency, ESA) and other nations are proceeding with their attempts to eventually land humans on Mars—possibly in the 2030 time frame.

We have about twenty years to hone our skills.

With regards to the search for the MPL: If you decide to take up the challenge of searching for the lost lander, good luck!