National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
NASA launched a multipurpose spacecraft named Mars Re- During the cruise phase of the mission, the flight team put the connaissance Orbiter on Aug. 12, 2005 to advance our under- spacecraft through a series of checkout tests and science cali- standing of Mars through detailed observation, to examine po- brations, in addition to conducting two maneuvers to fine-tune tential landing sites for future surface missions and to provide its trajectory. a high-data-rate communications relay for those missions. The spacecraft will reach Mars on March 10, 2006. A multi-en- Scientists will use the spacecraft to study the surface, moni- gine burn as the spacecraft first nears the planet will slow the tor the atmosphere, and probe underground, all to gain bet- craft enough for Mars’ gravity to capture it. The first orbit will ter knowledge of the distribution and history of Mars’ water, take about 35 hours and have an extremely elliptical shape, whether frozen, liquid or vapor. with its farthest point about 150 times farther from the planet than its closest point. The mission will use aerobraking for the Carrying the most powerful telescopic camera ever flown to next 6 months to modify the orbit to a rounder shape optimal another planet, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will be able to for science operations. Aerobraking, used previously at Mars show Martian landscape features as small as a kitchen table by NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey orbiters, from the spacecraft’s low orbital altitude. That camera and five relies on repeated, carefully calculated dips into the upper other science instruments will produce copious data every day atmosphere, where friction with the atmosphere slows the spacecraft. This reduces the cost of the mission by reducing for a planned 24-month science phase. To pour the data back NASAFacts to Earth at more than 10 times the rate of any previous Mars by about 450 kilograms (992 pounds) the amount of onboard mission, the spacecraft will use a wider antenna dish, a faster fuel that had to be launched from Earth in order for the space- computer and an amplifier powered by a bigger solar-cell ar- craft to enter the desired orbit around Mars. ray. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s primary science phase will be- Mission Overview gin in November 2006 and operate for 2 Earth years, encom- passing a full Mars year. Every 112 minutes, the spacecraft will An Atlas V two-stage launch vehicle sent the spacecraft on its make a complete circuit of Mars, flying a nearly circular orbit way to Mars from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. that will range from about 255 kilometers (160 miles) over the
www.nasa.gov For handlinglargeamountsofdata, MarsReconnaissanceOr- spacecraft. Lockheed MartinSpaceSystems,Denver, Colo.,builtthe mass. with fuelfor20onboardthrustersmakingupabouthalfofthat weighed about2,180kilograms(4,800pounds)atlaunch, square meters(220feet)ofsolarcells. The spacecraft about 13.6meters(45feet). The solarpanelshaveabout20 width fromthetipofonesolarpaneltootheris feet) toppedbya3-meter(10-foot)radioantennadish.Its Mars ReconnaissanceOrbiterhasaheightof6.5meters(21 Spacecraft sions. q RelayscientificinformationtoEarthfromMarssurfacemis sible missionstocollectsamplesforreturningEarth. future missionsthatwilllandonMars’ surface,includingpos- q Identifyandcharacterizesiteswiththehighestpotentialfor ice caps. ing, waterandice,profiletheinternalstructureofpolar q Probebeneaththesurfaceforevidenceofsubsurfacelayer- dence ofwaterorhydrothermalactivity. q Searchforsitesshowingstratigraphicorcompositionalevi- lated landforms. q InvestigatecomplexterrainonMarsandidentifywater-re- weather. q CharacterizeMars’ globalatmosphereandmonitorits mate changesfromseason-to-seasonandyear-to-year. q CharacterizethepresentclimateofMarsandhowcli- this missionareto: history andpotentialabilitytoharborlife.Keyobjectivesfor strategy forlearningaboutMars’ changingclimate,geologic ploration Programof“followingthewater”asamulti-mission mission makeitthecriticalnextstepinNASA MarsEx- The scienceobjectivesfortheMarsReconnaissanceOrbiter Science Objectives surface operationsin2010. Science Laboratory, nowindevelopmentandslatedtobegin using thiscapabilityisahighlysophisticatedrovercalledMars of landingsitesforfuturemissions. Among thefirstplannedfor from MarsReconnaissanceOrbiterwillalsohelpinselection ary landerforstudyingMars’ northpolarregionin2008.Data petitively selectedMarsScoutprogram.Phoenixisastation- current plans,willbePhoenix,thefirstmissioninNASA’s com- that landonMars. The firsttousethiscapability, accordingto will serveasacommunicationsrelaysatelliteformissions In additiontoitsownscience,MarsReconnaissanceOrbiter South Poleto320kilometers(200miles)overtheNorthPole. - on thespacecraft.Previousorbiters havemappedregional movementinordertomapMars’orbiter’s gravitybyitseffect q The GravityInvestigation bilateral agreement. caps, isprovidedbytheItalianSpace Agency (ASI)througha which willalsoprobetheinternalstructureofMartianice water thatmightbeaccessiblefromthesurface. This radar, about undergroundlayersofice,rockand,perhaps,melted kilometer (athirdofamile)belowMars’ surfaceforinformation q ShallowSubsurfaceRadarwillpenetratetoroughlyhalfa tems. Color ImagerisalsosuppliedbyMalinSpaceScienceSys- rolls neededtotargetspecificlocalesonMars. ThenewMars has awiderfish-eyelenstocompensateforthespacecraft ment. However, theMarsReconnaissanceOrbiterinstrument camera isessentiallyacopyofMarsClimateOrbiterinstru- there’s morewater, there’s lessozone,andviceversa. The a reverseindicatoraboutwaterinMars’ atmosphere.Where violet filterstoexaminevariationsinozone.Ozoneservesas track changesinMartianweather. Inaddition,itwilluseultra- q MarsColorImagerwillproduceglobalimagesdailyto 1992 MarsObserverand1998ClimateOrbitermissions. less compactinstrumentoriginallydevelopedatJPL for the advances toachievethemeasurementobjectivesofaheavier, sion Laboratory, Pasadena,Calif.,utilizesrecent technological temperature. This instrument, suppliedbyNASA’s JetPropul- atmosphere’s verticalvariationsofwatervapor, dustand tally throughtheatmosphereinordertoquantifyglobal q MarsClimateSounderwilllookbothdownandhorizon- supplier isMalinSpaceScienceSystems,SanDiego,Calif. ager couldcover15percentormoreoftheMarssurface. The by otherinstruments.Overtheprimarysciencephase,thisim- a simultaneousvisualcontextforsmaller-areaobservations q ContextCamera ment. Applied PhysicsLaboratory, Laurel,Md.,providedthisinstru- resolution of200meters(650feet).JohnsHopkinsUniversity’s carefully chosensites,whilecoveringthewholeplanetata als inpatchesassmallaswimmingpoolatfewthousand by providingspectralinformationthatcouldidentifykeyminer- Mars willextendthesearchforwater-relatedmineralson q CompactReconnaissanceImagingSpectrometerfor era fortheUniversityof Arizona, Tucson. (3 feet)across.Ball Aerospace, Boulder, Colo.,builtthecam- unprecedented detail,revealingfeaturesassmall1meter graph manyareastotalingabout1percentofMars’ surfacein q HighResolutionImagingScienceExperiment spacecraft itselfasatool. ultraviolet toradiowaves. Two otherinvestigationswillusethe planet invariouspartsoftheelectromagneticspectrumfrom The orbitercarriessixscienceinstrumentsforexaminingthe operating atupto46millioninstructionspersecond. biter has160gigabitsofsolid-statememoryandaprocessor willtakewider-swathpicturestoprovide willtrackvariationsinthe willphoto-
NASAFacts Pasadena, California California Instituteof Technology Jet PropulsionLaboratory National Aeronautics and Space Administration returning scienceandengineeringdatabacktoEarthusing commands fromEarthtolandersontheMarssurfaceandfor q Electraisanultra-high-frequency(UHF)radioforrelaying nications packageandtwotechnologydemonstrations. The payloadforthemissionalsoincludesarelaytelecommu- Additional Payload atmospheric dynamics. dip. The accumulateddatawillalsoimproveunderstandingof will helpguidecalculationsabouthowdeeptoplanthenext density oftheatmosphereatknownaltitudes.Quickanalysis velocity willbeanalyzedforinformationaboutchangesinthe the mission. The upperatmosphere’s effect onthespacecraft’s the upperatmospherethroughoutaerobrakingphaseof accelerometersduringeachdipinto lected fromtheorbiter’s q The Atmospheric StructureInvestigationwillusedatacol- polar icecapschangeswiththeseasons. gravity measurementstoassesshowmuchthemassofMars’ altitude willallowhigher-resolutiondata.Researchersuse in crustalthicknessandotherfactors. This spacecraft’s lower variations intheplanet’s gravitythatresultfromdifferences 3-06 ect isathttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro The official Web siteoftheMarsReconnaissanceOrbiterproj For MoreInformation telecommunications systems. will provideinformationtosupportplanningfutureuseofthe sphere. A comparisonofKabandandXperformance Ka bandsignalismoreattenuatedbywaterinEarth’s atmo- counterpart tosendthesameamountofdata.However, the age. The KabandpackageuseslesspowerthanitsX (Ka band)radiotransmittertothestandard(Xpack- q Another technologydemonstrationaddsahigher-frequency the intendedsite. enter theatmospheremorepreciselyandthuslandcloserto navigation techniquecanbeusedbyfutureMarslandersto Once demonstratedbyMarsReconnaissanceOrbiter, this camera’s observationsasthespacecraftapproachesMars. positions ofMars’ twomoons,PhobosandDeimos,with the q The OpticalNavigationCameracomparesthepredicted tions system. morepowerfuldirect-to- Earthtelecommunica- the orbiter’s
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