Lost in Space

By Albert Titus

Abstract

The Mars Climate Orbiter was deployed by NASA as part of a mission to study weather and climate on Mars. It was supposed to enter orbit at an altitude of 140.5–150 km (460,000-500,000 ft) above Mars, but due to an error, the spacecraft dipped as low as 57 km (190,000 ft) and was destroyed. The failure and loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter is examined in this case study, which explores the political, ethical, and economic issues as well as the scientific and technical aspects of the mishap. The case study is designed for use in a freshman-level Introduction to Engineering course.

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Date Posted

02/01/2001

Overview

Objectives

Introduce students to a problem that raises societal, political, ethical, and economic issues in engineering.
Introduce students to data gathering, data analysis, and problem solving in engineering.
Understand the importance of unit conversion in engineering.

Keywords

Unit conversion; failure analysis; space exploration; Mars Climate Orbiter; Mars; NASA

Subject Headings

Aerospace Engineering

Engineering (General)

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

High school, Undergraduate lower division

FORMAT

PDF

TOPICAL AREAS

Ethics, Policy issues, Social issues

LANGUAGE

English

TYPE/METHODS

Discussion, Interrupted

Teaching Notes & Answer Key

Teaching Notes

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Answer Key

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