MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR Mars Global Surveyor was the first successful us. mission launched to Mars since the Viking mission in 1976. After a 20-year absence at the planet, Mars Global Surveyor ushered in a new era of Mars exploration with its pioneering science investigations. Mars Global Surveyor arrived at Mars on September 11, 1997, and has contributed a multitude uof findings, including signs of past,persistent water such as an ancient delta and currently active water features in the gullies of canyon walls. After nearly a decade of discovery, MGs went silent in November, 20o6.