Mars Polar Lander

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/mars-polar-lander

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the spacecraft designation?Mars Surveyor '98 Lander (MPL)
2. What is the launch vehicle?Delta II rocket
3. What was the Mars Polar Lander and why did it go to Mars?The Mars Polar Lander was a robot sent by NASA to study Mars' southern polar region. It aimed to learn about the planet's climate, soil, and ice.
4. When did the Mars Polar Lander land and what happened?It was supposed to land on December 3, 1999. After the expected landing time, the lander stopped communicating, indicating it likely crashed.

Telemetry: The process of recording and transmitting the readings of an instrument.
Retrorockets: Rocket engines used to slow down a spacecraft during landing.
Planum Australe: The southern polar plain on Mars, characterized by ice caps and seasonal changes.