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Mars Observer: "Mapping the Martian World" 1992 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
🕑 Added 2020-05-09 20:33:20 +0000 UTCmore at http://quickfound.net/
Pre-flight description of the mission of the Mars Observer spacecraft, which was lost in space in 1993 just 3 days prior to its scheduled insertion into Martian orbit.
Originally a public domain film from NASA, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Observer
Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
The Mars Observer spacecraft, also known as the Mars Geoscience/Climatology Orbiter, was a robotic space probe launched by NASA on September 25, 1992, to study the Martian surface, atmosphere, climate and magnetic field. During the interplanetary cruise phase, communication with the spacecraft was lost on August 21, 1993, three days prior to orbital insertion. Attempts to re-establish communication with the spacecraft were unsuccessful...
History
In 1984, a high priority mission to Mars was set forth by the Solar System Exploration Committee. Then titled the Mars Geoscience/Climatology Orbiter, the Martian orbiter was planned to expand on the information already gathered by the Viking program. Preliminary mission goals expected the probe to provide planetary magnetic field data, detection of certain spectral line signatures of minerals on the surface, images of the surface at 1 meter/pixel and global elevation data.
Mars Observer was originally planned to be launched in 1990 by a Space Shuttle Orbiter. The possibility for an expendable rocket to be used was also suggested, if the spacecraft was designed to meet certain constraints. On March 12, 1987, the mission was rescheduled for launch in 1992, in lieu of other backlogged missions (Galileo, Magellan, Ulysses) after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Along with a launch delay, budget overruns necessitated the elimination of two instruments to meet the 1992 planned launch. As the development matured, the primary science objectives were finalized as:
Determine the global elemental and mineralogical character of the surface material.
Define globally the topography and gravitational field.
Establish the nature of the Martian magnetic field.
Determine the temporal and spatial distribution, abundance, sources, and sinks of volatiles and dust over a seasonal cycle.
Explore the structure and circulation of the atmosphere.
The program's total cost is estimated at $813 million...
Mars Observer was launched on September 25, 1992 at 17:05:01 UTC by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, aboard a Commercial Titan III CT-4 launch vehicle. The complete burn sequence lasted for 34 minutes after a solid-fuel Transfer Orbit Stage placed the spacecraft into an 11-month, Mars transfer trajectory, at a final speed of 5.28 km/s with respect to Mars...
Encounter with Mars
Mars Observer was scheduled to perform an orbital insertion maneuver on August 24, 1993, but contact with the spacecraft was lost on August 21, 1993. The likely reason for the spacecraft failure was the leakage of fuel and oxidizer vapors through the improperly designed PTFE check valve to the common pressurization system. During interplanetary cruise, the vapor mix had accumulated in feed lines and pressurant lines, resulting in explosion and their rupture after the engine was restarted for routine course correction. A similar problem later crippled the Akatsuki space probe in 2010. Although none of the primary objectives were achieved, the mission provided interplanetary cruise phase data, collected up to the date of last contact. This data would be useful for subsequent missions to Mars. Science instruments originally developed for Mars Observer were placed on four subsequent spacecraft to complete the mission objectives: Mars Global Surveyor launched in 1996, Mars Climate Orbiter launched in 1998, 2001 Mars Odyssey launched in 2001 and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched in 2005...
