Historical eventJanuary 31999

Mars Polar Lander

The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.

Everything on January 3Original source

In context

When
Sunday, January 3 199927 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1990s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1999.

What happened

The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.

January 3 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1999Mars Polar Lander
  2. 2009Payment system
  3. 2009Cryptocurrency
  4. 2015Boko Haram
  5. 2016Nimr al-Nimr
  6. 2018For the first time in history, all five major storm surge gates in the Netherlan
  7. 2019Chang'e 4
  8. 2020Qasem Soleimani
  9. 2023Jurong Bird Park
  10. 20242024 Kerman bombings
  11. 2026United States

Also in 1999

  • September 9Singapore Portrait Series currency notesThe first banknotes of the Portrait Series of the Singapore dollar were introduced by the Board of Commissioners of Currency.
  • September 14KiribatiKiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations.
  • October 22Maurice PaponMaurice Papon, an official in the Vichy government during World War II, is jailed for crimes against humanity.
  • May 25United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details China's nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prio…
  • August 101999 Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shootingOne person is killed and five people are injured in the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting.
  • November 27New Zealand Labour PartyThe Labour Party defeated the governing National Party in the New Zealand general election, with Labour's Helen Clark becoming the countr…
  • July 5Bill ClintonU.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
  • July 31Discovery ProgramDiscovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen wa…

Everything we record for 1999 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Mars Polar Lander”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/mars-polar-lander-1999-january-3, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Mars Polar Lander happen?

January 3 1999 — 27 years ago, on a Sunday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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