Mars '96 Science Team

Model of the Mars '96 orbiter. Image credit: DLR Institute of Planetary Exploration.

The Mars '96 Mission was initially funded as Mars '94 by the Soviet Union, before the union ended in 1991. Russia's Mars '96 was launched November 17, 1996. The spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere and was lost within less than a day after launch. The "Mars Relay" system on Mars Global Surveyor was to have relayed data from the Mars '96 landers. The relay system used computer space on the MGS MOC camera provided by MSSS. MSSS President Michael Malin was a Mars '96 science investigator.

Mars '96 Mission Description and Background