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

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Jul 21 14:02:33 2005
Message-ID: <200507211801.j6LI1gZ15918_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

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

-end-
Received on Thu 21 Jul 2005 02:01:41 PM PDT