The Mars Polar Lander, Mars Climate Orbiter, and Mars Microprobes (Deep Space 2) compose this year's Mars Surveyor Program missions. The Polar Lander will release two microprobes which will impact the surface and search for water. The probe will then set down on the south pole of Mars later this year and dig into the layers of soil there. The Climate Orbiter will examine the Martian atmosphere.

The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) has been quietly scanning Mars pictures, looking for the Mars Polar Lander since early December, 1999. According to a source close to the NIMA effort, photographic specialists at NIMA think they ...