Space: Mars Global Surveyor (pub. Nov. 22, 2006)
Searching more than 75 years of world history
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Nov. 22, 2006, announced that its unmanned Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft had probably "finished its operating career" after the space agency’s rover, Opportunity, failed on Nov. 21 to detect a transmission signal from the orbiting spacecraft.
Immediate context
NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor was launched from Cape Canaveral in November 1996, as part of a series of US missions to Mars and after the US Mars Observer mission had failed in 1994. The spacecraft was armed with an array of scientific instruments designed to study the "entire Martian surface, atmosphere, and interior". The spacecraft had captured and returned to Earth some 240,000 photographic images of the Martian landscape, including those showing channel-like features that could have been formed by water seeping from underground reservoirs and which some scientists interpreted as evidence of the presence of liquid water. Further evidence of the presence of water on Mars was obtained by Opportunity in 2004. It was announced in September 1969 that a manned mission to Mars by the end of the twentieth century was a key objective of the USA’s space exploration programme, and in the early years of the twenty first century Mars became the primary focus for major exploration missions.Reaction and outlook
The Mars Global Surveyor had "surpassed all expectations" and its mission was "the most productive science mission to Mars", according to Michael Meyer, NASA's lead scientist for Mars exploration. The spacecraft had not communicated with Earth since Nov. 2, 2006, and a loss of power, caused by a damaged solar panel, was deemed the likely cause. NASA official Fuk Li said "we are facing the likelihood that the amazing flow of scientific observations from Mars Global Surveyor is over".
Historical context
The race to explore space was an important aspect of the Cold War between the superpowers after World War II. The Soviet Union in 1957 launched the Sputnik 1 , the first satellite to orbit the Earth. The Soviet lead in the ‘space race’ was consolidated in 1961 when Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut, conducted the first manned space flight on board Vostok 1. In a special State of the Union address in May 1961 US President John F. Kennedy called for Congress to increase funding for the US space programme. In February 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth . The first manned lunar landing was made by Apollo 11 in July 1969. Competition between the USA and the Soviet Union did not rule out collaborative projects, and in 1975 a rendezvous of Apollo and Soyuz space modules was executed. In the 1970s both the Soviet Union and the USA began to develop permanent space stations and reusable space craft. The Skylab mission--to build a permanent space station--commenced in May 1973, and in 1981 the re-usable US space shuttle conducted its first test flight. In February 1986 the Soviet Union launched the Mir space station, which was intended to be the first permanently manned space station. The USA and Russia began building the International Space Station (ISS) in 1998 after the relative thawing of relations between the countries following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The increased collaboration between the two countries was also a reaction to the mounting costs of space exploration. By the beginning of the twenty first century space exploration had ceased to be a US-Russian duopoly; China had successfully conducted its first manned space flight in 2003.
Timeline links
- October 2005 China's second manned space mission, the Shenzhou VI, is launched.
- September 2005 The Japanese space probe Hayabusa, approaches within 20 km of the asteroid Itokawa.
- July 2005 A US space shuttle is launched for the first time since the loss of the Columbia.
- March 2005 India launches a mission to the Moon.
- December 2004 Mars Exploration Rovers discover evidence of water on Mars.
- February 2004 ESA announces Mars programme.
- January 2004 US President Bush announces plans to establish a permanent base on the Moon as a staging post for a manned expedition to Mars.
- October 2003 China launches first manned space flight.
- June 2003 Mars Express launches Beagle 2 but contact with lander is lost.
- February 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia explodes upon re-entry killing all on board.
- Nov / December 1998 Construction of International Space Station (ISS) begins.
- March 1998 Lunar Prospector confirms presence of water on the Moon.
- February 1986 The Mir space station is established.
- January 1986 Challenger space shuttle explodes seconds after taking off killing all on board.
- June 1983 Pioneer 10 is the first probe to leave the solar system.
- 1975-76 Viking 1, the first US probe to land on Mars, transmits data until 1982.
- July 1975 First link-up of US astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts in space.
- May 1975 The European Space Agency (ESA) is inaugurated.
- May 1973 Commencement of Skylab missions.
- June 1971 Three cosmonauts on board Soyuz 11 are killed on re-entry.
- May 1971 Mars 3 becomes the first space probe to land on Mars.
- September 1970 Luna 16 is the first probe to land on the Moon and return with samples.
- April 1970 Apollo 13 lunar landing is aborted; the damaged craft makes a successful return to Earth.
- July 1969 Apollo 11 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, and returns safely.
- July 1969 Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin become the first people to walk on the Moon.
- July 1969 First manned lunar landing is made by Apollo 11.
- April 1967 Soviet cosmonaut killed when parachute fails upon re-entry.
- January 1967 Three US astronauts are killed in a fire while training.
- February 1962 John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth in Mercury 6.
- April 1962 Britain's first earth satellite is launched from Cape Canaveral by a US Delta three-stage rocket.
- November 1961 A male chimpanzee on board a space capsule is fired into orbit at Cape Canaveral by an Atlas rocket.
- May 1961 President Kennedy requests increased funding for space exploration programme.
- May 1961 Commander Alan B. Shepard, a US Navy pilot, becomes the second astronaut to make a flight in outer space.
- April 1961 Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut, conducts the first manned space flight.
- August 1960 US launches Echo 1, a communications satellite.
- April 1960 USA launches first navigational satellite, Transit 1-B; USA launches first weather satellite Tiros 1.
- September 1959 Lunik 2 Soviet probe is the first to reach the Moon on which it crash lands.
- March 1959 Pioneer IV is successfully launched at Cape Canaveral, USA.
- January 1959 The Soviet Union launches into space the first man-made missile.
- April 1958 US President Eisenhower urges the US Congress to enact legislation to establish a new civilian-controlled body—the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA).
- March 1958 A panel of US scientists recommends that the US government implement a programme of space research, including the exploration of the Moon.
- January 1958 The Sputnik I earth satellite disintegrates after completing 1,367 circuits of the Earth and travelling about 48,000,000 miles.
- November 1957 The Soviet Union announces that it has successfully launched a second artificial satellite, carrying a dog in a pressurized container, into outer space.
- October 1957 A US legislator describe the launching by the Soviet Union of Sputnik I as "a devastating blow to the prestige of the USA as the leader in the scientific and technical world".
- October 1957 Sputnik 1, the first satellite to orbit the earth, is launched by the Soviet Union.
- July 1955 The USA announces its plans to launch small unmanned satellites into space.
