sentences:  The first global map was expected to be completed on December 16, followed by solar conjunction beginning on December 20, and lasting for nineteen days, ending on January 3, 1994; during this time, mission operations would be suspended as radio contact would not be possible.Orbiting Mars at an approximate speed of 3.4 km/s, the spacecraft would travel around Mars in a north to south, polar orbit.As the spacecraft circles the planet, horizon sensors indicate the orientation of the spacecraft while the reaction wheels would maintain the orientation of the instruments, towards Mars.