Vintage 1999 NASA Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor MVACS Tee

Vintage

NASA Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) Mars Polar Lander Mission Tee

Tagged XL on Hanes — refer to photos for exact measurements

Background:

MVACS was an integrated instrument payload aboard the Mars Polar Lander, launched January 3, 1999. Led by Dr. David Paige of UCLA, it consisted of four elements: a Stereo Surface Imager, a Robotic Arm with Camera, a Meteorology Package, and a Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer, all designed to study water and other volatiles on Mars. Tragically, contact was lost just before landing on December 3, 1999. Investigators concluded the spacecraft mistakenly interpreted landing leg deployment as touchdown and shut its engines down 40 meters above the surface, ending the mission before MVACS could operate.