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Mars
Climate Orbiter (MCO) |
Launched Dec. 11, 1998 |
Lost
Sept. 23, 1999 |
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Mars
Polar Lander (MPL) |
Launched
Jan. 3, 1999 |
Lost Dec. 3, 1999 |
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Mars 98 was my first big chance to
make a splash, artwise. Well, the project made a splash alright
- of the non-survivable kind.
The Mars 98 project was my chance
to take the iniative and do what I could to show the public what
it was all about. By the time the first of the four Mars 98 spacecraft
arrived at Mars, I had already created a large set of mission
artwork. I managed to show the newly renamed Mars Climate Orbiter
and Mars Polar Lander in a variety of different scenes.
Then, one at a time, the entire Mars
98 project, including both Deep Space 2 microprobes, vanished
..... lost in space. I was there the night the Mars Climate Orbiter
was lost and it was quite an experience. |
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Mars Climate Orbiter Mars
Orbit Insertion at JPL, Sept. 23, 1999, early AM |
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My first arrival
at Mars
Mars 98 mission mangers during the
night Mars Orbit insertion for Mars Climate Orbiter. I was watching
from outside the glass-enclosed control room. There was hardly
anyone there becaue it was late at night and very few JPL'ers
had access to that area. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity
to see history. The person visible through in the right image
might be me (marked by an arrow). |
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It was a really big story when the spacecraft
were lost and my image were widely used around the world. The
example above is one of many I saved for my archives. |
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My first landing
on Mars - Mars Polar Landing Day, Dec. 3 1999 |
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We had to wait a long nine months from
the launch of Mars Polar Lander to it's arrival at it's carefully
selected landing ellipse on the northern polar plains. But now
the day had finally come. |
The world's media descended on JPL to
cover this dramatic event. I posed next to a media tent while
my former wife Emily took the picture. I don't remember seeing
media at JPL the night Mars Climate Orbiter arrived but now the
stakes for NASA were much higher and the world was watching. |
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The Flight Operations Team wore special
badges with my artwork on it (above). |
Left: Sam Thurman, Mars 98 Flight Operations
Manager. If you look closely you can see his Flight Operations
team badge. Sam was my main contact with the team and was the
one who approved my set of images. |
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Left: Rich Cook, a mission manager,
and Rich Zurek, Mars 98 project scientist in the control room
waiting for a signal. |
Sam Thurman (in foreground) looks back
at the team as they waited for the signal that never arrived. |
Happier times
with Mars 98
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That's me at the 1998 JPL Open House
standing to my artwork of Mars Polar Lander (and holding a 2nd
image of MPL) |
Special Event for JPL'ers and family
members: if I recall it was a live concert performance of The
Planets by Holtz at the Hollywood Bowl. To our surprise, the
Mars Outreach team set up posters at the bowl with some of my
artwork on them: Mars Polar Lander, Mars 2001 Orbiter and Mars
2001 Lander. That's my ex-wife Emily. |
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These are the computer models of the
Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander that I created to
make realistic looking artwork images. Back in 1998-1999 when
I created the orbiter model I assumed the logos and silvery covering
on the back of the solar panels were correct. But I suspect that
covering would have been removed before flight. |
Mars 98 Website
Artwork
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I created the Mars 98 website banner.
Everything was set and then disaster struck, not once but four
times - the orbiter, lander and two microprobes were all lost.
Click on these banners to visit the websites which have sat unchanged
since the missions ended. |
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JPL and NASA Mars 98
Image Links |
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My Mars Polar Lander image was published
on the cover a 2002 book called "Mars Probes", by Peter
Crowther. |
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