Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) is an orbiter that launches November 1996. MGS reaches Mars in September 1997 and begins systematic observations in January 1998. MGS carries 5 instruments, including ASU's Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES).
Mars Pathfinder is a lander which will launch in December 1996. It lands on July 4, 1997. Mars Pathfinder will test new technologies for landing spacecraft on Mars, and will gather data about the martian atmosphere, weather, soils and rocks.
Mars Pathfinder will be equipped with a microrover, Sojourner, named after the 19th Century suffragette and abolitionist, Sojourner Truth. Sojourner will roam the martian surface in July 1997, guided by a scientist in California.
Back to Contents of TES News February 1996