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Mars NASA's Reconnaissance Orbiter Strikes Vertigo
this morning's milestone: he completed 60,000 loops around the red planet at 10:39
Pacific daylight time (13:39 eastern daylight time). On average, it takes 112 minutes for the MRO to go around Mars,
whip at about 2 miles per second (3.4 kilometers per second).
Since it entered into orbit on March 10, 2006, the spacecraft has
collected daily scientific data on the surface and atmosphere of the planet,
including detailed views with
his scientific experiment camera in high resolution imaging (HiRISE).
HiRISE is powerful enough to see surfaces the size of a dining room
table from 186 miles (300 kilometers) above the surface.
Meanwhile, MRO monitors the daily weather and probes the
subsurface for ice, providing data that can influence the design of
missions that will lead humans to Mars.
But MRO is not content to send back its own science; it serves
in a relay network that transmit data to Earth from NASA's Mars rovers and
landers. Later this month, MRO will take another step: it will relay
1 terabit of data, largely from NASA's Curiosity mobile. If you already enjoyed
one of the selfies of Curiosity
or sprawling landscapes
or amazed at his scientific discoveries, MRO
probably helped make them possible.
"MRO gave scientists and the public a new
perspective of Mars, "said project manager Dan Johnston at Jet, NASA
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who leads the mission. "We have
also supported the fleet of NASA surface area missions, allowing them to send
their images and their discoveries to Earth scientists. "
Eyes in the sky
Rovers and landers can only study their immediate behavior.
proximity, orbits can see vast expanses of the entire planet; MRO can actually
target any point in the Martian globe about once every two weeks.
The aerial perspective of the MRO also provides scientists with a
complementary view of a dynamic planet. As the seasons go by, they can see
avalanches and clouds. HiRISE has imaged CO2
sublimating ice, sand in migration
dunes and meteorite
strikes reshape the landscape. With its Mars Climate Sounder instrument
and its Mars Color Imager camera, MRO can also study atmospheric events such as
the massive global dust
thunderstorm which has proven fatal on the occasion of NASA
rover in 2018.
"Mars is our laboratory," said the MRO's deputy
Scientist of the project, Leslie Tamppari of JPL. "After more than a decade, we have
collected enough data to formulate and test hypotheses to determine their evolution
or hold over time. "
Daily calls to
Earth
MRO is one of the orbiters that send data from March to
Earth every day. In the same way, MRO is the main relay of Curiosity, Odyssey (NASA
orbiter lived the longest) is the main relay of the agency's last Martian agency.
inhabitant, InSight. The atmosphere and the volatile evolution of Mars (MAVEN)
recently started to change orbit
in preparation to cover the entrance of the rover March 2020 after landing in February
2021. Once the data is sent to an orbiter, they are transmitted to giant antennas at a
from three places around the Earth, all of which are NASA Deep space
Network.
This relay network is now international. L & # 39; European
The Space Agency's Trace Gas Orbiter is increasingly involved in
data sent from the surface. And all these orbiters are preparing for the
arrival of ESA's Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover, which is due to land
the same year as March 2020.
March landings
Orbits like MRO and Odyssey are always happy
imagery of potential landing sites for future missions.
But after selecting a site and sending a mission to Mars, the orbiters play
another critical role.
Before a surface mission can begin to carry out scientific activities, it is necessary to
must land safely. Successful landings require time precision for the
spaceship enters the Martian atmosphere just at the right angle, the parachute
It opens at the right time and the sensors detect the surface that is approaching quickly.
MRO and other orbiters serve as black boxes, recording data
about each landing, which become more difficult with the type of added mass that
comes with a mission like March 2020. Engineers use the data to design
missions – which will be the key to send astronauts to Mars. With the intention of coming back
astronauts on the surface of the moon by 2024, NASA turns to the human being
explore the red planet, too.
The reaction propulsion laboratory of NASA, a division of Caltech
Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter project for
NASA Science Missions Directorate in Washington. The University of Arizona at
Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies
Corp in Boulder, Colorado. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, provided
and operates MARCI.
Media contact
Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
818-393-2433
[email protected]
2019-089
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