Mars Global Surveyor (
MGS) was a US
robotic spacecraft developed by
NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. Mars Global Surveyor was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through the atmosphere to the surface. As part of the larger
Mars Exploration Program, Mars Global Surveyor performed monitoring relay for sister
orbiters during
aerobraking, and it helped
Mars rovers and lander missions by identifying potential landing sites and relaying surface telemetry.