Testing frame-dragging with the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft in the gravitational field of Mars

In this letter we find evidence of the general relativistic gravitomagnetic Lense-Thirring effect by interpreting the time series of the RMS overlap differences of the out-of-plane part N of the orbit of the Martian polar orbiter Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) over a time span ∆P of about 5 years (14 November 1999-14 January 2005). The average of such a time series over ∆P , normalized to the predicted Lense-Thirring out-of-plane shift over the same time span, is μ = 1.0018± 0.0053. A linear fit confirms our interpretation of the determined MGS out-ofplane features of motion as due to the gravitomagnetic force of Mars.