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A NASA mission to Mars, launched on 7 November 1996 for arrival in September 1997, effectively as a replacement for the failed Mars Observer. It was successfully put into a high elliptical orbit around Mars on 11 September 1997, then gradually manoeuvred into an almost circular near-polar orbit from which to carry out systematic mapping. The spacecraft's orbit was modified by "aerobraking", in which the drag of the martian
atmosphere was used to
reduce the orbital speed of the craft. Mapping operations were due to start in March 1998 but were delayed by about a year due to problems with aerobraking. Mars Global Surveyor was
designed to serve as a communications satellite for future missions
after completion of its mapping mission.
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