Status: Under
Development
Launch Date: April 7, 2001
Mission Summary: Scheduled to arrive at Mars on October 20, 2001, Mars Surveyor 2001 will use the aerobraking maneuver to achieve a 2-hour science orbit. Surveyor was originally scheduled to have a lander, but due to restructuring of the faltering Mars Exploration Program, only an orbiter will be included in the mission. Surveyor will map mineralogy and morphology, global elemental composition of the surface, and it will determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface of the Red Planet. Also, Surveyor will monitor the aspects of near-space radiation environment in order to determine the radition risk to human explorers.
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