The problem occurred when a team at Lockheed Martin submitted acceleration data in pounds of force. Unfortunately, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory assumed the numbers were in metric newtons. In other words, there was a mistake made in the units. The spacecraft was lost when it flew too close to the Red Planet. It was supposed to study Mars' climate for 687 days.
Scientists believe the orbiter burned up in Mars' atmosphere.
Artist's depiction of the Mars Climate Orbiter. Scientists confused the units when finding the right orbit. The orbiter got too close to the Red Planet and blew up. The spacecraft would have studied Mars' weather for one Mars year, which is 687 days. Now, scientists are trying to find out how they could have made the mistake.