![]() The spacecraft wound up being 2.1 meters wide (6’9”), 1.6 meters tall (5’3”) and two meters deep (6’6”). ![]() The two would be a mini-powerhouse for studying Mars from orbit. It would take with it instruments designed first for the Mars Global Surveyor. The Mars Climate Orbiter was to follow the success of the Mars Global Surveyor. This first probe would map the surface of Mars with more detail than ever before which would help pave the way for future Mars landers. It was launched in 1996 on a Delta II rocket from SLC-17A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, now known as Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Mars Global Surveyor was the first mission in this new program. This differed from the previous “Swiss Army Knife” approach of cramming every instrument possible into a probe. These new probes would be under 1,000 kilograms, with fewer but more focused scientific instruments. Goldin’s doctrine meant probes were to be less expensive and smaller to allow for more missions and higher launch cadences. The informal and popular name for this new ethos was “faster, better, cheaper.” Under administrator Daniel Goldin, a 1994 panel on Small Spacecraft Technology set new guidelines for NASA interplanetary missions. But, we knew it as, you guessed it, the Mars Climate Orbiter. That space probe would study the Martian climate. And NASA was hoping to have a big hit on their hands with an exciting new Mars orbiter. ![]() Cher’s song “Believe” was a number one hit. The Matrixwas playing on movie screens across North America. Back when websites looked like a Commodore 64’s display on steroids. Party Like It’s 1999: Mars Climate Observer Mission Overview And it’s a fun story to tell, so let’s get started! It is a classic lesson that will live on for generations. So, let’s look at the planned mission, versus what wound up happening and why. But honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever heard the whole story told right, and I definitely didn’t know what happened before writing this article! Now this is a well-known story, one you may have heard your physics professor regale you with when talking about the importance of units. This is where we will look at a mission or an event that led to everyone in mission control collectively face palming. Welcome to another episode of the Biggest Facepalms of Spaceflight history, otherwise known as spacepalms. But when NASA and Lockheed Martin mixed up units for the Mars Climate Orbiter, it led to the loss of a $327 million mission to Mars. Luckily when you and I mix up units it likely only makes our food taste bad, or strips a bolt, or leads to an annoying argument about which is the right measurement system. Have you ever accidentally used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon? Or maybe grabbed a metric wrench when you were trying to loosen a 9/16ths inch bolt? Maybe you’ve heard someone say something weighs a tonne and have had to ask, a short ton or a metric tonne?
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