After a 17-year gap since its last mission to the red planet (Viking mission), the United States launched Mars Observer on September 25, 1992. The spacecraft was based on a commercial Earth-orbiting communications satellite that had been converted into an orbiter for Mars. The payload of science instruments was designed to study the geology, geophysics and climate of Mars. The mission ended with disappointment on August 22, 1993, when contact was lost with the spacecraft shortly before it was to enter orbit around Mars. Science instruments from Mars Observer are being reflown on two other orbiters, Mars Global Surveyor and 2001 Mars Odyssey. Science instruments included: High-resolution camera, thermal emission spectrometer, laser altimeter, magnetometer/electron reflectometer, pressure modulator infrared radiometer, gamma ray spectrometer, radio science experiment. (from http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/missiondetails.cfm?mission=MarsObserver downloaded on June 10, 2008).
See also JPL54, JPL204, JPL258, and JPL268 for additional Administrative History notes.
From the description of Mars Observer Project Records, 1982-1994. (Jet Propulsion Laboratory Library and Archives). WorldCat record id: 733102836
