# SoS Mars Global Surveyor **URL:** \ **Category:** Mars Global Surveyor\ **Created:** [14 Novembre 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337 "2006-11-14T06:33:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Starcruiser](https://www.forumastronautico.it/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Starcruiser](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/Starcruiser)\ **Post date:** [14 Novembre 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/1 "2006-11-14T06:33:55Z")
Ho appena ricevuto un post dalla CNN che dice che MGS è ko. Per capira cosa le è successo si userà la telecamera di un’altra sonda appena arrivata in orbita marziana. Passerà a circa una novantina di miglia da MGS. Inoltre si useranno le radio dei due rover ancora su Marte per ottenere ulteriori informazioni. Sbaglio o è la prima volta che una sonda spaziale fotograferà un’altra sonda? ---
**Author:** ![marcozambi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/marcozambi/32/208660_2.png) [@marcozambi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/marcozambi)\ **Post date:** [14 Novembre 2006, 9:16am UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/2 "2006-11-14T09:16:17Z")
Speriamo bene. Le difficoltà alla vetusta ma produttivissima sonda erano state segnalate in occasione del suo decimo compleanno (!) ---
**Author:** ![Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/paolo/32/7_2.png) [@Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/Paolo)\ **Post date:** [14 Novembre 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/3 "2006-11-14T19:09:39Z")
> Sbaglio o è la prima volta che una sonda spaziale fotograferà un'altra sonda? Proprio Mars Globl Surveyor aveva fotografato sia Mars Odissey che Mars Express ---
**Author:** ![Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/paolo/32/7_2.png) [@Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/Paolo)\ **Post date:** [14 Novembre 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/4 "2006-11-14T19:14:32Z")
> > Sbaglio o è la prima volta che una sonda spaziale fotograferà un'altra sonda? > > Proprio Mars Globl Surveyor aveva fotografato sia Mars Odissey che Mars Express [http://www.msss.com/mars\_images/moc/2005/05/19/](http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/19/) ---
**Author:** ![marcozambi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/marcozambi/32/208660_2.png) [@marcozambi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/marcozambi)\ **Post date:** [21 Novembre 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/5 "2006-11-21T20:03:29Z")
Ho paura che si avvicini il capolinea… > Nov. 21, 2006 > > Erica Hupp/Dwayne Brown > Headquarters, Washington > 202-358-1237/1726 > > Guy Webster > Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. > 818-354-6278 > > RELEASE: 06-357 > > NASA’S MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR MAY BE AT MISSION’S END > > Pasadena, Calif. – NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor has likely finished > its operating career. The spacecraft has served the longest and been > the most productive of any mission ever sent to the red planet. > > “Mars Global Surveyor has surpassed all expectations,” said Michael > Meyer, NASA’s lead scientist for Mars exploration at NASA > Headquarters, Washington. “It has already been the most productive > science mission to Mars, and it will yield more discoveries as the > treasury of observations it has made continues to be analyzed for > years to come.” Its camera has returned more than 240,000 images to > Earth. > > The orbiter has not communicated with Earth since Nov. 2. Preliminary > indications are that a solar panel became difficult to pivot, raising > the possibility that the spacecraft may no longer be able to generate > enough power to communicate. Engineers are also exploring other > possible explanations for the radio silence. > > “Realistically, we have run through the most likely possibilities for > re-establishing communication, and we are facing the likelihood that > the amazing flow of scientific observations from Mars Global Surveyor > is over,” said Fuk Li, Mars Exploration Program manager at NASA’s Jet > Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. “We are not giving up > hope, though.” > > Efforts to regain contact with the spacecraft and determine what has > happened to it will continue. NASA’s newest Mars spacecraft, the Mars > Reconnaissance Orbiter, pointed its cameras towards Mars Global > Surveyor on Monday. “We have looked for Mars Global Surveyor with the > star tracker, the context camera and the high-resolution camera on > Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,” said Doug McCuistion, Mars Exploration > Program director at NASA Headquarters. “Preliminary analysis of the > images did not show any definitive sightings of a spacecraft.” > > The next possibility for learning more about Mars Global Surveyor’s > status is a plan to send it a command to use a transmitter that could > be heard by one of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers later this week. > > Mars Global Surveyor launched on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars > on Sept. 11, 1997. It pioneered the use of aerobraking at Mars, using > careful dips into the atmosphere for friction to shrink a long > elliptical orbit into a nearly circular one. The mission then started > its primary mapping phase in April 1999. The original plan was to > examine the planet for one Mars year, nearly two Earth years. Based > on the value of the science returned by the spacecraft, NASA extended > its mission four times. > > “It is an extraordinary machine that has done things the designers > never envisioned despite a broken wing, a failed gyro and a worn-out > reaction wheel. The builders and operating staff can be proud of > their legacy of scientific discoveries and key support for subsequent > missions,” said Tom Thorpe, project manager for Mars Global Surveyor > at JPL. > > The spacecraft evaluated landing sites for the twin NASA rovers that > landed in 2004 and sites for future landings of the Phoenix and Mars > Science Laboratory missions. It monitored atmospheric conditions > during aerobraking by newer orbiters. It served as a relay link for > the rovers and provided mapping information about their surroundings. > > “When we watched the launch 10 years ago, we wondered if we would make > the specified mission length. We certainly were not thinking of a > 10-year operating life,” said JPL retiree Glenn Cunningham, who > managed the Global Surveyor project through development and launch. > > A few of the mission’s many important discoveries about Mars include: > > – The spacecraft’s camera found gullies cut into many slopes that > have few, if any, impact craters. This indicates the gullies are > geologically young. Scientists interpret this as evidence of action > by liquid water, essentially in modern times. > > – The mineral-mapping infrared spectrometer found concentrations of a > mineral that often forms under wet conditions, fine-grained hematite. > This discovery led to selection of a hematite-rich region as the > landing site for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. > > – Laser altimeter measurements have produced an unprecedented global > topographic map of Mars. The instrument revealed a multitude of > highly eroded or buried craters too subtle for previous observation, > and mapped canyons within the polar ice caps. > > – The magnetometer found localized remnant magnetic fields, > indicating that Mars once had a global magnetic field like Earth’s, > shielding the surface from deadly cosmic rays. > > – The camera found a fan-shaped area of interweaving, curved ridges > interpreted as evidence of an ancient river delta resulting from > persistent flow of water over an extended period in the planet’s > ancient past. > > – A long life allowed Global Surveyor to track changes through > repeated annual cycles. For three Martian summers in a row, deposits > of carbon-dioxide ice near Mars’ South Pole shrunk from the previous > year’s size, suggesting a climate change in progress. > > JPL manages Mars Global Surveyor for the NASA Science Mission > Directorate, Washington. > > For more information on the mission, visit the Internet at: > > [http://www.nasa.gov/mission\_pages/mgs/index.html](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mgs/index.html) > > -end- ---
**Author:** ![Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/paolo/32/7_2.png) [@Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/Paolo)\ **Post date:** [21 Novembre 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/6 "2006-11-21T20:53:25Z")
In tal caso addio MGS! Il piu’ longevo e piu’ produttivo di tutti gli orbiter marziani. Una rapida ricerchina bibliografica sullo Smithsonian/NAS Abstract Service mi ha fruttato oltre 1300 titoli di pubblicazioni scientifiche. Non so se mi spiego… ---
**Author:** ![Maxi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/maxi/32/74475_2.png) [@Maxi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/Maxi)\ **Post date:** [24 Novembre 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/7 "2006-11-24T22:16:53Z")
Un minuto di silenzio in memoria della più longeva e produttiva sonda inviata attorno a Marte… ---
**Author:** ![Spacewalker](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/spacewalker/32/209850_2.png) [@Spacewalker](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/Spacewalker)\ **Post date:** [25 Novembre 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/8 "2006-11-25T19:33:41Z")
> Una rapida ricerchina bibliografica sullo Smithsonian/NAS Abstract Service mi ha fruttato oltre 1300 titoli di pubblicazioni scientifiche. Non so se mi spiego... 😱😱 Orpolina! ---
**Author:** ![Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/paolo/32/7_2.png) [@Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/Paolo)\ **Post date:** [6 Dicembre 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/9 "2006-12-06T20:13:59Z")
Dal prossimo numero del Jonathan’s Space Report, una cronologia dei orbiter e lander marziani Probe Mars arrival End of ops. Duration at Mars Mariner 9 1971 Nov 1972 Oct 0.9 yr Mars-2 1971 Nov 1972 Aug 0.6 yr Mars-3 1971 Dec 1972 Aug? 0.6 yr? Mars-5 1974 Feb 1974 Mar 0.0 yr Viking Orbiter 1 1976 Jun 1980 Aug 4.1 yr Viking Lander 2 1976 Jul 1982 Nov 6.3 yr Viking Orbiter 2 1976 Aug 1978 Jul 1.9 yr Viking Lander 2 1976 Sep 1980 Apr 3.6 yr Fobos-2 1989 Jan 1989 Mar 0.2 yr Mars Pathfinder 1997 Jul 1997 Oct 0.2 yr MGS 1997 Sep 2006 Nov 9.1 yr Mars Odyssey 2001 Oct Active 5.1 yr Mars Express 2003 Dec Active 3.0 yr Spirit 2004 Jan Active 2.9 yr Opportunity 2004 Jan Active 2.8 yr MRO 2006 Mar Active 0.8 yr Mia aggiunta: con la perdita di MGS, queste sono le cinque sonde piu’ anziane attualmente operative (con l’anno di lancio tra parentesi): Voyager 2 (1977), Voyager 1 (1977), Ulysses (1990), Cassini (1997), Mars Odissey (2001). ICE (1978) e Stardust (1999) sono ancora funzionanti ma attualmente in ibernazione. Anche Pioneer 6 (1965!) dovrebbe essere funzionante ma non piu’ seguita dalle antenne. ---
**Author:** ![Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/paolo/32/7_2.png) [@Paolo](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/Paolo)\ **Post date:** [13 Aprile 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/10 "2007-04-13T18:25:39Z")
Il rapporto preliminare sulla perdita del MGS e’ stato pubblicato oggi [http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/174244main\_mgs\_white\_paper\_20070413.pdf](http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/174244main_mgs_white_paper_20070413.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![marcozambi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/marcozambi/32/208660_2.png) [@marcozambi](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/marcozambi)\ **Post date:** [13 Aprile 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/11 "2007-04-13T18:32:16Z")
… e qui l’annuncio ufficiale. * * * April 13, 2007 Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 Guy Webster Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-6278 RELEASE: 07-88 REPORT REVEALS LIKELY CAUSES OF MARS SPACECRAFT LOSS WASHINGTON - After studying Mars four times as long as originally planned, NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor orbiter appears to have succumbed to battery failure caused by a complex sequence of events involving the onboard computer memory and ground commands. The causes were released today in a preliminary report by an internal review board. The board was formed to look more in-depth into why NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor went silent in November 2006 and recommend any processes or procedures that could increase safety for other spacecraft. Mars Global Surveyor last communicated with Earth on Nov. 2, 2006. Within 11 hours, depleted batteries likely left the spacecraft unable to control its orientation. “The loss of the spacecraft was the result of a series of events linked to a computer error made five months before the likely battery failure,” said board Chairperson Dolly Perkins, deputy director-technical of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. On Nov. 2, after the spacecraft was ordered to perform a routine adjustment of its solar panels, the spacecraft reported a series of alarms, but indicated that it had stabilized. That was its final transmission. Subsequently, the spacecraft reoriented to an angle that exposed one of two batteries carried on the spacecraft to direct sunlight. This caused the battery to overheat and ultimately led to the depletion of both batteries. Incorrect antenna pointing prevented the orbiter from telling controllers its status, and its programmed safety response did not include making sure the spacecraft orientation was thermally safe. The board also concluded that the Mars Global Surveyor team followed existing procedures, but that procedures were insufficient to catch the errors that occurred. The board is finalizing recommendations to apply to other missions, such as conducting more thorough reviews of all non-routine changes to stored data before they are uploaded and to evaluate spacecraft contingency modes for risks of overheating. “We are making an end-to-end review of all our missions to be sure that we apply the lessons learned from Mars Global Surveyor to all our ongoing missions,” said Fuk Li, Mars Exploration Program manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor, launched in 1996, operated longer at Mars than any other spacecraft in history, and for more than four times as long as the prime mission originally planned. The spacecraft returned detailed information that has overhauled understanding about Mars. Major findings include dramatic evidence that water still flows in short bursts down hillside gullies, and identification of deposits of water-related minerals leading to selection of a Mars rover landing site. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Information about the Mars Global Surveyor mission, including the preliminary report from the process review board and a list of some important discoveries by the mission, is available on the Internet at: [http://www.nasa.gov/mission\_pages/mgs](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mgs) EDITORS NOTE: NASA will hold a media teleconference today at 3 p.m. EDT, to discuss the report. Reporters should call 1-888-398-6118 and use the pass code “Mars” to participate in the teleconference. International media should call 1-773-681-5826. Replays of the teleconference will be available by calling 866-369-3645. International media may call: 203-369-0243. Audio of the teleconference will stream live at: [http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio](http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio) -end- ---
**Author:** ![albyz85](https://www.forumastronautico.it/user_avatar/www.forumastronautico.it/albyz85/32/16_2.png) [@albyz85](https://www.forumastronautico.it/u/albyz85)\ **Post date:** [13 Aprile 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://www.forumastronautico.it/t/sos-mars-global-surveyor/5337/12 "2007-04-13T20:08:34Z")
Metto anche la nostra: 😃 > Dopo una missione più lunga del preventivato di 4 volte, nel novembre scorso l'orbiter della NASA era stato definitivamente perso e non si erano più instaurati contatti con la Terra. Oggi è stato pubblicato un report che spiega la probabile causa della perdita. Sembra che il guasto sia dovuto ad un malfunzionamento delle batterie dovuto ad una serie di eventi in sequenza che riguardano il computer di bordo e i comandi inviati da terra. Il 2 Novembre scorso dopo un comando di routine per il riorientamento dei pannelli sono giunti una serie di allarmi alla stazione di controllo che comunque indicavano una situazione stabilizzata. Questa è stata l'ultima trasmissione. Successivamente la sonda si è riorientata in maniera errata esponendo entrambe le batterie direttamente al Sole e provocandone un surriscaldamento fatale. Un cattivo orientamento dell'antenna ha impedito che venisse inviata a terra la situazione di pericolo cui era posta la sonda e la procedura automatica d'emergenza installata a bordo non prevedeva la messa in sicurezza dell'equipaggiamento dagli effetti termici. Si è quindi concluso che gli operatori da terra hanno eseguito tutto quello che potevano e sempre nelle procedure, le quali erano però insufficienti per questa evenienza. [http://www.forumastronautico.it/index.php?topic=3666](http://www.forumastronautico.it/index.php?topic=3666)