Mars Climate Orbiter and Polar Lander Launched
on December 11, 1998, by a Delta II rocket, the
Mars Climate Orbiter carried instruments to study
weather, atmospheric ozone, distribution and trans-
port of dust and water, effects of topography on at-
mospheric circulation, and atmospheric response to
solar heating. The spacecraft reached Mars on Sep-
tember 23, 1999, and fired its engine to enter orbit.
Radio contact was not reestablished after the space-
craft passed behind Mars. A failure review board de-
termined that some commands were sent in impe-
rial instead of metric units and that the spacecraft
was destroyed by atmospheric stresses when it came
too close to Mars.
The Mars Polar Lander, launched aboard a
Delta II rocket on January 3, 1999, was targeted to
land near the edge of the south polar ice cap. The
spacecraft was designed to record weather condi-
tions, analyze samples of polar deposits for water
and carbon dioxide, and determine soil composi-
tion. The last radio signal from the lander was sent
just prior to atmospheric entry on December 3,
- When the Mars Climate Orbiter was lost, the
task of relaying communications from the Polar
Lander was shifted to the Mars Global Surveyor, but
no communications were received from the surface.
The Polar Lander carried two soil penetrators, in-
tended to separate from the spacecraft just before at-
mospheric entry to measure thermal conductivity of
the surface, but these were lost as well.
Impact Indications that Mars was once warm, wet,
and had a dense atmosphere suggest that it was
Earth-like in the past, raising the question of how it
evolved into an inhospitable planet. The successes of
Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor set the
stage for more ambitious exploration in the twenty-
first century, possibly including human exploration
of Mars. The Sojourner rover marked the beginning
of a program of ever more ambitious Mars rovers in
the twenty-first century. However, the failures of the
Mars Observer, Mars Climate Orbiter, and Mars Po-
lar Lander emphasized the difficulty of planetary ex-
ploration.
Further Reading
Bizony, Piers.The Exploration of Mars: Searching for the
Cosmic Origins of Life. London: Aurum Press, 1998.
A well-illustrated, two-hundred-page account of
the search for life on Mars.
Mishkin, Andrew.Sojourner: An Insider’s View of the
Mars Pathfinder Mission. New York: Berkeley, 2004.
A firsthand account of the Mars Pathfinder probe
by a systems engineer at the Jet Propulsion Labo-
ratory. Illustrated.
Shirley, Donna.Managing Martians. New York: Broad-
way Books, 1998. An account of the development
of Sojourner by the first woman to manage a
NASA spaceflight program.
George J. FlynnSee also Science and technology; Space explora-
tion; Space shuttle program. Matrix, The
Identification Science-fiction action film
Directors Larry Wachowski (1965- ) and
Andy Wachowski (1967- )
Date Released on March 31, 1999
This highly influential and popular film reflected popular
concerns about the relationships among technology, cyber-
space, and humanity.
The Matrixtells the story of Thomas “Neo” Anderson
(Keanu Reeves), a weary computer programmer for
a megacorporation by day and a computer hacker by
night. When he follows the advice of unusual strang-
ers, Neo learns the truth of his existence: It is not
1999 as he and most humans believe, but nearly two
hundred years later. Machines rule the world and
have created a virtual reality—the Matrix—to pacify
humans. The rebels free Neo and train him to ma-
nipulate the Matrix, hoping he will be the hero who
will save the human race.
The story’s mystery is heightened by the philo-
sophical questions it overtly raises: What is reality?
Does a self exist? How do images relate to reality?
How are humans and machines related? The almost
constant allusions to literature, philosophy, theory,
film, and popular culture provide resonance and
sometimes humor. For example: Neo must follow
the white rabbit to find the rebels and then go down
the “rabbit hole” (Lewis Carroll’sAlice’s Adventures in
Wonderland, 1865). Neo’s understanding that his
“life” in 1999 is an illusion exemplifies Plato’s “Alle-
gory of the Cave.” The names Zion and Nebuchad-
nezzar come from the Bible, and Neo may be “the
One,” a clear symbol for Christ. Film buffs will recog-556 Matrix, The The Nineties in America