WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

In the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2), the top of the Mars Polar Lander is removed to prepare the Lander for testing, including a functional test of the science instruments and the basic spacecraft subsystems. The Mars Polar Lander is targeted for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station aboard a Delta II rocket on Jan. 3, 1999. The solar-powered spacecraft is designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south pole in order to study the water cycle there. The lander also will help scientists learn more about climate change and current resources on Mars, studying such things as frost, dust, water vapor and condensates in the Martian atmosphere.