Mars Surveyor 2001

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The Mars Surveyor 2001 project was a two-part Mars exploration mission intended as a follow-up to Mars Surveyor 1998. However, the two probes of the 1998 project, Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander, were both lost and in the aftermath, NASA's "better, faster, cheaper" exploration philosophy was re-evaluated, with particular eye on the two 2001 project probes. As a result, the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander was canceled in May 2000, but the decision was made to go ahead with its orbiter counterpart. The Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter, renamed 2001 Mars Odyssey, was launched 2001 April 7, reached Mars on 2001 October 24, and after a few months of aerobraking, began mapping the planet on 2002 February 19.