Home » Science & Nature » The Solar System » Odyssey Reaches Mars in Late October

Odyssey Reaches Mars in Late October

© Pattie Stechschulte

Next Tuesday, on October 23, the Mars Odyssey spacecraft will fire its main engines as it assumes a regular orbit around Mars after traveling 285 million miles in 200 days. It joins a long list of 30 launched crafts that have been sent in hopes of learning more about the mysterious red planet.

"Odyssey will help identify and ultimately target those places on Mars where future rovers and landers must visit to unravel the mysteries of the red planet," said Jim Garvin, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program.

Odyssey left Cape Canaveral on April seventh with the latest scientific equipment on board to study the Martian surface and study radiation levels for possible future human exploration. "The launch of 2001 Mars Odyssey represents a milestone in our exploration of Mars -- the first launch in our restructured Mars Exploration Program we announced last October," said Ed Weiler, Associate Administrator for Space Science at NASA Headquarters. "Mars continues to surprise us at every turn. We expect Odyssey to remove some of the uncertainties and help us plan where we must go with future missions."

The spacecraft will use its small propellant tanks to do a precise burn for 19.7 minutes to enter orbit. It will pass behind the planet during the burn, so NASA scientists will not receive confirmation until it re-establishes contact when it comes out from behind Mars about 15 minutes later. In order to slow its speed, the spacecraft will purposefully bounce off the atmosphere (aerobraking) to establish its planned 19-hour elliptical orbit at the desired altitude of 250 miles for collecting data.

Onboard the spacecraft are several interesting gadgets to map the chemical and mineralogical makeup of Mars and look for near-surface water.

A Thermal-Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) will map the planet with high-resolution thermal images and give scientists an increased level of detail to help them understand how the mineralogy of the planet relates to the landforms they see.

The Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) will perform virtual shovel digging into the surface to allow scientists to peer into the upper few centimeters of Mars's crust to measure many elements, including the amount of hydrogen that exists. Because hydrogen is most likely present in the form of water-ice, the spectrometer will be able to measure permanent ground ice and how that changes with the seasons.

"For the first time at Mars, we will have a spacecraft that is equipped to find evidence for present near-surface water and to map mineral deposits from past water activity," said Steve Saunders, 2001 Mars Odyssey project scientist at JPL. "Despite the wealth of information from previous missions, exactly what Mars is made of is not fully known, so this mission will give us a basic understanding about the chemistry and mineralogy of the surface."

The copyright of the article Odyssey Reaches Mars in Late October in The Solar System is owned by Pattie Stechschulte. Permission to republish Odyssey Reaches Mars in Late October in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.