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MARS SURVEYOR 98 MISSION STATUS

Prepared by Mars Surveyor Operations Project Manager
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Friday 8 January 1999

Mars Polar Lander (MPL)

Mars Polar Lander is now in a nominal cruise mode with the sun and stars acquired and proper medium gain antenna pointing. Earlier issues with the lack of star camera performance have been attributed to scattered light saturation of the star camera. Reconfiguration commanding on Wednesday morning, January 6, allowed the spacecraft to reenter the post separation sequence during which the sun lighting conditions allowed proper star camera operation. There have been two incidents involving rapid rates (rapid transitions within deadbands) that used a quite a bit of fuel. These incidents have been attributed to parameters that needed fine tuning within the attitude control flight software, and are being updated. The spacecraft is very healthy and performing normally.

Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO)

The Mars Climate Orbiter is very healthy, is in a minimal activity cruise mode, with Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking only three hours per day. The Pressure Modulator Infrared Radiometer (PMIRR) instrument team reports that their analysis indicates that the PMIRR cooler door open on command.

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