[meteorite-list] NASA's New Mars Orbiter Will Sharpen Vision of Exploration (MRO)

[Ron Baalke]

Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington                  July 21, 2005 
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Guy Webster 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/354-6278)

RELEASE: 05-195

NASA'S NEW MARS ORBITER WILL SHARPEN VISION OF EXPLORATION

     NASA's next mission to Mars will examine it in unprecedented detail from low 
orbit. It will provide more data about that intriguing planet than all previous 
missions combined. Launch opportunities begin Aug. 10 for the Mars Reconnaissance 
Orbiter. The orbiter and its launch vehicle are nearing final stages of 
preparation at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 

The spacecraft will examine Martian features ranging from the top of the 
atmosphere to underground layering. Researchers will use it to study the history 
and distribution of Martian water. It will also support future Mars missions by 
characterizing landing sites and providing a high-data-rate communications relay.

"Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is the next step in our ambitious exploration of 
Mars," said NASA's director, Mars Exploration Program, Science Mission 
Directorate, Douglas McCuistion. "We expect to use this spacecraft's eyes in the 
sky in coming years as our primary tools to identify and evaluate the best places 
for future missions to land." 

The spacecraft carries six instruments for probing the atmosphere, surface and 
subsurface to characterize the planet and how it changed over time. One of the 
science payload's three cameras will be the largest-diameter telescopic camera 
ever sent to another planet. It will reveal rocks and layers as small as the 
width of an office desk. Another camera will expand the present area of high-
resolution coverage by a factor of 10. A third will provide global maps of 
Martian weather. 

The other three instruments are a spectrometer for identifying water-related 
minerals in patches as small as a baseball infield; a ground-penetrating radar, 
supplied by the Italian Space Agency, to peer beneath the surface for layers or 
rock, ice and, if present, water; and a radiometer to monitor atmospheric dust, 
water vapor and temperature.

Two additional scientific investigations will analyze the motion of the 
spacecraft in orbit to study the structure of the upper atmosphere and the 
Martian gravity field.

"We will keep pursuing a follow-the-water strategy with Mars Reconnaissance 
Orbiter," said Dr. Michael Meyer, Mars exploration chief scientist at NASA 
Headquarters. "Dramatic discoveries by Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey and the 
Mars Exploration Rovers about recent gullies, near-surface permafrost and ancient 
surface water have given us a new Mars in the past few years. Learning more about 
what has happened to the water will focus searches for possible Martian life, 
past or present." 

Dr. Richard Zurek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., 
project scientist for the orbiter, said, "Higher resolution is a major driver for 
this mission. Every time we look with increased resolution, Mars has said, 
'Here's something you didn't expect. You don't understand me yet.'  We're sure to 
find surprises."

The orbiter will reach Mars in March 2006. It will gradually adjust the shape of 
its orbit by aerobraking, a technique that uses the friction of careful dips into 
the planet's upper atmosphere. For the mission's 25-month primary science phase, 
beginning in November 2006, the planned orbit averages about 190 miles above the 
surface, more than 20 percent lower than the average for any of the three current 
Mars orbiters. The lower orbit adds to the ability to see Mars as it has never 
been seen before.

To get information from its instruments to Earth, the orbiter carries the biggest 
antenna ever sent to Mars and a transmitter powered by large solar panels. "It 
can send 10 times as much data per minute as any previous Mars spacecraft," said 
JPL's James Graf, project manager. "This increased return multiplies the value of 
the instruments by permitting increased coverage of the surface at higher 
resolution than ever before. The same telecommunications gear will be used to 
relay critical science data to Earth from landers."  

To loft so big a spacecraft, weighing more than two tons fully fueled, NASA will 
use a powerful Atlas V launch vehicle for the first time on an interplanetary 
mission.

The mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of 
Technology, Pasadena, for the NASA Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin 
Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the 
spacecraft. 

For information about Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mro

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