Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ( MRO ) is a multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and exploration of Mars from orbit.

When MRO entered orbit there were five other spacecraft in orbit of or on Mars: Mars Global Surveyor , Mars Express , Mars Odyssey , and two Mars Exploration Rovers ; a then record for most spacecraft operational in Mars vicinity. The $720 million USD spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin under the supervision of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It was launched August 12, 2005, and attained Martian orbit on March 10, 2006. In November 2006, after five months of aerobraking, it entered its final science orbit and began its primary science phase.

MRO contains a host of scientific instruments such as cameras, spectrometers, and radar, which are used to analyze the landforms, stratigraphy, minerals, and ice of Mars. It paves the way for future spacecraft by monitoring daily weather and surface conditions, studying potential landing sites, and hosting a new telecommunications system. MRO' s telecommunications system will transfer more data back to Earth than all previous interplanetary missions combined, and MRO will serve as a highly capable relay satellite for future missions.

The mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.

Prior to launch

It was one of two missions being considered for the 2003 Mars launch window; however, during the proposal process the orbiter lost against what became known as the Mars Exploration Rovers. The orbiter mission was rescheduled for launch in 2005, and NASA announced its final name, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter , on October 26, 2000.

MRO is modeled after NASA's highly successful Mars Global Surveyor to conduct surveillance of Mars from orbit. Early specifications of the satellite included a large camera to take high resolution pictures of Mars. In this regard, Jim Garvin, the Mars exploration program scientist for NASA, proclaimed that MRO would be a "microscope in orbit". The satellite was also to include a visible-near-infrared spectrograph.

On October 3, 2001, NASA chose Lockheed Martin as the primary contractor for the spacecraft's fabrication. By the end of 2001 all of the mission's instruments were selected. There were no major setbacks during MRO' s construction, and the spacecraft was moved to John F. Kennedy Space Center on May 1, 2005 to prepare it for launch.

Mission objectives

MRO science operations will last two Earth years, from November 2006 to November 2008. One of the mission's main goals is to map the Martian landscape with its high-resolution cameras in order to choose landing sites for future surface missions. The MRO played an important role in choosing the landing site of the Phoenix Lander , which explored the Martian Arctic in Green Valley . The initial site chosen by scientists was imaged with the HiRISE camera and found to be littered with boulders. After analysis with HiRISE and the Mars Odyssey's THEMIS a new site was chosen. Mars Science Laboratory , a highly maneuverable rover, will also have its landing site inspected. The MRO will also provide critical navigation data during their landings and act as a telecommunications relay.

MRO is using its on-board scientific equipment to study the Martian climate, weather, atmosphere, and geology, and to search for signs of water in the polar caps and underground. In addition, MRO is looking for the remains of the previously lost Mars Polar Lander and Beagle 2 spacecraft, and serves as the first step in setting up an internet protocol network for the planets in our solar system. After its main science operations are completed, the probe's extended mission is to be the communication and navigation system for landers and rover probes.

Launch and orbital insertion

On August 12, 2005, MRO was launched aboard an Atlas V-401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Centaur upper stage of the rocket completed its burns over a fifty-six minute period and placed MRO in interplanetary transfer orbit towards Mars.

MRO cruised through interplanetary space for seven and a half months before reaching Mars. While en route most of the scientific instruments and experiments were tested and calibrated. To ensure proper orbital insertion upon reaching Mars, four trajectory correction maneuvers were planned and a fifth emergency maneuver was discussed. However, only three trajectory correction maneuvers were necessary, saving fuel for MRO' s extended mission.

MRO began orbital insertion by approaching Mars on March 10, 2006, and passing above its southern hemisphere at an altitude of 370–400 km (190 mi). All six of MRO' s main engines burned for 27 minutes to slow the probe from ~2,900 m/s to ~1,900 m/s (6,500 mph to 4,250 mph). The helium pressurization tank was colder than expected, which reduced the pressure in the fuel tank by about 21 kPa (3 psi). The reduced pressure caused the engine thrust to be diminished by 2%, but MRO automatically compensated by extending the burn time by 33 seconds.

Completion of the orbital insertion placed the orbiter in a highly elliptical polar orbit with a period of approximately 35.5 hours. Shortly after insertion, the periapsis – the point in the orbit closest to Mars – was 3,806 km from the planet's center (426 km from its surface). The apoapsis – the point in the orbit farthest from Mars – was 47,972 km from the planet's center (44,500 km from its surface).

On March 30, 2006, MRO began the process of aerobraking, a three-step procedure that cuts in half the fuel needed to achieve a lower, more circular orbit with a shorter period. First, during its first five orbits of the planet (one Earth week), MRO used its thrusters to drop the periapsis of its orbit into aerobraking altitude. This altitude depends on the thickness of the atmosphere because Martian atmospheric density changes with its seasons. Second, while using its thrusters to make minor corrections to its periapsis altitude, MRO maintained aerobraking altitude for 445 planetary orbits (about 5 Earth months) to reduce the apoapsis of the orbit to 450 km (280 mi). This was done in such a way so as to not heat the spacecraft too much, but also dip enough into the atmosphere to slow the spacecraft down. After the process was complete, MRO used its thrusters to move its periapsis out of the edge of the Martian atmosphere, August 30, 2006.

In September 2006 MRO fired its thrusters twice more to fine-tune its final, nearly circular orbit approximately 250 to 316 km (155 to 196 mi) above the Martian surface. The SHARAD dipole antennas were deployed on September 16. All of the scientific instruments were tested and most were turned off prior to the solar conjunction which occurred from October 7, 2006 to November 6, 2006. After the conjunction ended the "primary science phase" began.

On November 17, 2006 NASA announced the successful test of the MRO as an orbital communications relay. Using the NASA rover "Spirit" as the point of origin for the transmission, the MRO acted as a relay for transmitting data back to Earth.

Events and discoveries

See also: Timeline of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

On September 29, 2006, MRO took its first high resolution image from its science orbit. This image is said to resolve items as small as 90 cm (3 feet) in diameter.

On October 6, 2006, NASA released detailed pictures from the MRO of Victoria crater along with the Opportunity rover on the rim above it.

In November 2006, problems began to surface in the operation of two MRO spacecraft instruments. A stepping mechanism in the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) skipped on multiple occasions resulting in a field of view that is slightly out of position. By December normal operations of the instrument was suspended, although a mitigation strategy allows the instrument to continue making most of its intended observations. Also, an increase in noise and resulting bad pixels has been observed in several CCDs of the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). Operation of this camera with a longer warm-up time has alleviated the issue. However, the cause is still unknown and may return.

HiRISE continues to return images which have enabled discoveries regarding the geology of Mars. Foremost among these is the announcement of banded terrain observations indicating the presence and action of liquid carbon dioxide or water on the surface of Mars in its recent geological past. HiRISE was able to photograph the Phoenix lander during its parachuted descent to Vastitas Borealis on May 25, 2008.

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