Mars - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

On August 12, 2005, NASA launched the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) toward the Red Planet. The spacecraft was approximately twenty-one by forty-five feet in size and weighed more than two tons. A powerful Atlas V two-stage rocket was used to hoist the heavy MRO into space. Figure 7.10 shows some of the main features of the orbiter.

The MRO includes sophisticated radar, mineralogy, and atmospheric probes designed to learn about the atmosphere, terrain, and subsurface of the planet. It also carries a high-resolution camera to provide very detailed images of the Martian surface. NASA calls the spacecraft its "eyes in the sky." The MRO entered Mars orbit on March 10, 2006, and, following several months of aero-FIGURE 7.10 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter "Spacecraft," in Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Launch Press Kit, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, August 2005, http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/newsroom/presskits/pdfs/mro-launch.pdf (accessed December 28, 2005)braking, will take up an orbiting position 190 miles from the surface of the planet. The MRO will also act as a communications relay satellite for future Mars missions. The orbiter is expected to operate at least through 2010. The total price of the mission is approximately $720 million.