![]() ![]() ![]() The informal and popular name for this new ethos was “faster, better, cheaper.” Under administrator Daniel Goldin, a 1994 panel on Small Spacecraft Technology set new guidelines for NASA interplanetary missions. But, we knew it as, you guessed it, the Mars Climate Orbiter. That space probe would study the Martian climate. And NASA was hoping to have a big hit on their hands with an exciting new Mars orbiter. ![]() Cher’s song “Believe” was a number one hit. The Matrixwas playing on movie screens across North America. Back when websites looked like a Commodore 64’s display on steroids. Party Like It’s 1999: Mars Climate Observer Mission Overview And it’s a fun story to tell, so let’s get started! It is a classic lesson that will live on for generations. So, let’s look at the planned mission, versus what wound up happening and why. But honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever heard the whole story told right, and I definitely didn’t know what happened before writing this article! Now this is a well-known story, one you may have heard your physics professor regale you with when talking about the importance of units. This is where we will look at a mission or an event that led to everyone in mission control collectively face palming. Welcome to another episode of the Biggest Facepalms of Spaceflight history, otherwise known as spacepalms. But when NASA and Lockheed Martin mixed up units for the Mars Climate Orbiter, it led to the loss of a $327 million mission to Mars. Luckily when you and I mix up units it likely only makes our food taste bad, or strips a bolt, or leads to an annoying argument about which is the right measurement system. Have you ever accidentally used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon? Or maybe grabbed a metric wrench when you were trying to loosen a 9/16ths inch bolt? Maybe you’ve heard someone say something weighs a tonne and have had to ask, a short ton or a metric tonne? ![]()
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