Mars Observer Camera (MOC)
MSSS operated the Mars Observer Camera (MOC) aboard the Mars Observer spacecraft. MSSS President, Michael C. Malin, was the Principal Investigator. The Mars Observer mission was initially funded in 1984. The MOC was originally proposed to NASA in 1985, and selected in 1986. The spacecraft was lost on August 21, 1993, just three days before the planned Mars Orbit Insertion. After the Mars Observer failure, a new MOC was built for Mars Global Surveyor. The second MOC reached the red planet in September 1997, and continued to return images from Mars until the spacecraft was lost in November 2006.
| Launch: 25 September 1992 | Mars Orbit Insertion: Planned for 24 August 1993 | Last Contact: 21 August 1993 |
Information on the Loss of Mars Observer in 1993
Mars Observer MOC Operations Animation
Pre-launch Papers Describing MOC Investigation
| NASA Mars Exploration Program Mars Observer Page | NASA GSFC Mars Observer Page |
