Mars Surveyor 1998

A two-spacecraft NASA Mars mission scheduled for launch in December 1998 and early January 1999. It comprises both an orbiter, which will be launched first, and a lander, to be launched about a month later. The orbiter is intended to continue the global reconnaissance started by Mars Global Surveyor, while the second craft is to land near the south polar region. The emphasis of the mission is on studying the martian climate and interactions between the atmosphere and the surface.