The “Faster, Better, Cheaper” era also coincided with the discovery of a Mars rock that hinted at the possibility of microbial life elsewhere in the solar system. NASA’s reaction was to envision a steady stream of missions to Mars at cut-rate costs. In fact, the next challenge taken on by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was to fly two missions to Mars for the price of the single Pathfinder mission. Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander both made it to the launch pad, on time and on budget, but were lost upon arrival at Mars. This episode tells the story of the demise of these two missions and the abrupt end of NASA’s "Faster, Better, Cheaper." Part of the "JPL and the Space Age" series.