2001 Mars Odyssey
 Conceptual drawing of 2001 Mars Odyssey over Mars. |
|
| Operator | NASA |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Orbiter |
| Launch date | 15:02:22 UTC, 7 April 2001 (12 years, 1 month, and 11 days ago) |
| Launch vehicle | Delta II 7425 |
| Launch site | Space Launch Complex 17A Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| Mission duration | In progress (4111 sols) (11 years, 3 months, and 18 days elapsed) Primary mission (completed 24 August 2004, 1007 sols) Extended mission (started 25 August 2004) |
| Satellite of | Mars |
| Orbital insertion date | 02:18:00 UTC, 24 October 2001 |
| COSPAR ID | 2001-014A |
| Homepage | Mars Odyssey: Overview |
| Mass | 376 kg (830 lb) |
| Power | 750 W (Photovoltaic array/NiHM Battery) |
| Orbital elements | |
| Semimajor axis | 3,785 km (~400 km above surface) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0115 |
| Inclination | 93.2 deg |
| Orbital period | 1.964 hours |
2001 Mars Odyssey is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million. Its mission is to use spectrometers and electronic imagers to detect evidence of past or present water and volcanic activity on Mars. It is hoped that the data Odyssey obtains will help answer the question of whether life has ever existed on Mars. It also acts as a relay for communications between the Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Science Laboratory, and the Phoenix lander to Earth. The mission was named as a tribute to Arthur C. Clarke, evoking the name of 2001: A Space Odyssey.[1]
Odyssey was launched April 7, 2001 on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and reached Mars orbit on October 24, 2001, at 2:30 a.m. UTC (October 23, 7:30 p.m. PDT, 10:30 p.m. EDT).[2] The spacecraft's main engine fired in order to brake the spacecraft's speed, which allowed it to be captured into orbit around Mars. Odyssey used a technique called "aerobraking" that gradually brought the spacecraft closer to Mars with each orbit. By using the atmosphere of Mars to slow down the spacecraft in its orbit, rather than firing its engine or thrusters, Odyssey was able to save more than 200 kilograms (440 lb) of propellant. Aerobraking ended in January, and Odyssey began its science mapping mission on February 19, 2002.
By December 15, 2010 it broke the record for longest serving spacecraft at Mars, with 3,340 days of operation, claiming the title from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor.[3] It currently holds the record for the longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth at 11 years, 6 months, and 24 days.[not verified in body]
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Naming [edit]
Mars Odyssey was originally a component of the Mars Surveyor 2001 program, and was named the Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter. It was intended to have a companion spacecraft known as Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander, but the lander mission was canceled in May 2000 following the failures of Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander in late 1999. Subsequently, the name 2001 Mars Odyssey was selected for the orbiter as a specific tribute to the vision of space exploration shown in works by Arthur C. Clarke, including 2001: A Space Odyssey. The music from Mythodea by Greek composer Vangelis was used as the theme music for the mission.
Scientific instruments [edit]
The three primary instruments Odyssey uses are the:
- Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS).[4]
- Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS),[5] includes the High Energy Neutron Detector (HEND), provided by Russia.
On May 28, 2002 (sol 210), NASA reported that Odyssey's GRS had detected large amounts of hydrogen, a sign that there must be ice lying within a meter of the planet's surface.[citation needed] GRS is a collaboration between University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Lab., the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Russia's Space Research Institute.
Mission [edit]
Odyssey has served as the primary means of communications for NASA’s Mars surface explorers in the past decade and will continue that role for the Curiosity rover. About 85% of images and other data from NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have reached Earth via communications relay by Odyssey. Odyssey continues to receive transmissions from the surviving rover, Opportunity, every day. The orbiter helped analyze potential landing sites for the rovers and performed the same task for NASA's Phoenix mission, which landed on Mars in May, 2008. Odyssey aided NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which reached Mars in March 2006, by monitoring atmospheric conditions during months when the newly arrived orbiter used aerobraking to alter its orbit into the desired shape.
On September 30, 2008 (sol 2465)the spacecraft altered its orbit to gain better sensitivity for its infrared mapping of Martian minerals. The new orbit eliminated the use of the gamma ray detector, due to the potential for overheating the instrument at the new orbit.
NASA has approved a fourth two-year extended mission, through August 2012, to allow for the observation of year-to-year differences in phenomena like polar ice, clouds, and dust storms, as well as a much more sensitive mapping of Martian minerals. A fifth extended mission (to July 2014) is considered likely in light of Curiosity's successful August 2012 landing. The orbiter contains enough propellant to operate at least until 2015. In 2010, a spokesman for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory stated that Odyssey could continue operating until at least about 2016 and "perhaps even well beyond".[6]
The payload's MARIE radiation experiment stopped taking measurements after a large solar event bombarded the Odyssey spacecraft on October 28, 2003. Engineers believe the most likely cause is that a computer chip was damaged by a solar particle smashing into the MARIE computer board.
One of the orbiter's three flywheels failed in June 2012. However, Odyssey's design included a fourth flywheel, a spare carried against exactly this eventuality. The spare was spun up and successfully brought into service. Since July 2012, Odyssey has been back in full, nominal operation mode following three weeks of 'safe' mode on remote maintenance.[7]
Water on Mars [edit]
On July 31, 2008, NASA announced that the Phoenix lander confirmed the presence of water on Mars,[8] as predicted in 2002 based on data from the Odyssey orbiter. The science team is trying to determine whether the water ice ever thaws enough to be available for microscopic life, and if carbon-containing chemicals and other raw materials for life are present.
Odyssey and Curiosity [edit]
Odyssey now acts as a relay for UHF radio signals from the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity.[9] Several days before the MSL's landing in August 2012, Odyssey's orbit was altered to ensure that it would be able to capture signals from the rover during its first few minutes on the Martian surface.[9]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ NASA JPL mission overview page
- ^ "Mars Odyssey Arrives". SkyandTelescope.com. 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
- ^ Press Release
- ^ P. R. Christensen, B. M. Jakosky, H. H. Kieffer, M. C. Malin, H. Y. McSween Jr., K. Nealson, G. L. Mehall, S. H. Silverman, S. Ferry, M. Caplinger, M Ravine (2004). "The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) for the Mars 2001 Odyssey Mission". Space Science Reviews 110 (1-2): 85. Bibcode:2004SSRv..110...85C. doi:10.1023/B:SPAC.0000021008.16305.94.
- ^ W.V. Boynton, W.C. Feldman, I.G. Mitrofanov, L.G. Evans, R.C. Reedy, S.W. Squyres, R. Starr, J.I. Trombka, C. d'Uston, J.R. Arnold, P.A.J. Englert, A.E. Metzger, H. Wänke, J. Brückner, D.M. Drake, C. Shinohara, C. Fellows, D.K. Hamara, K. Harshman, K. Kerry, C. Turner, M. Ward1, H. Barthe, K.R. Fuller, S.A. Storms, G.W. Thornton, J.L. Longmire, M.L. Litvak, A.K. Ton'chev (2004). "The Mars Odyssey Gamma-Ray Spectrometer Instrument Suite". Space Science Reviews 110 (1-2): 37. Bibcode:2004SSRv..110...37B. doi:10.1023/B:SPAC.0000021007.76126.15.
- ^ http://www.universetoday.com/81675/the-longest-martian-odyssey-ever/ (2010 Universe Today article on Mars Odyssey)
- ^ Longest-Lived Mars Orbiter Is Back in Service June 27, 2012
- ^ Confirmation of Water on Mars
- ^ a b Curiosity's perilous landing? 'Cleaner than any of our tests' - Los Angeles Times
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 2001 Mars Odyssey |
- The Mars Odyssey site
- Mars 2001 Odyssey Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- Sky & Telescope: Mars Odyssey Pays Early Dividends
- BBC News story on Mars Odyssey observations of apparent ice deposits
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