Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington July 21, 2005
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/354-6278)

RELEASE: 05-195

NASA'S NEW MARS ORBITER WILL SHARPEN VISION OF EXPLORATION

NASA's next mission to Mars will examine it in unprecedented detail
from low
orbit. It will provide more data about that intriguing planet than all
previous
missions combined. Launch opportunities begin Aug. 10 for the Mars
Reconnaissance
Orbiter. The orbiter and its launch vehicle are nearing final stages of
preparation at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

The spacecraft will examine Martian features ranging from the top of the
atmosphere to underground layering. Researchers will use it to study the
history
and distribution of Martian water. It will also support future Mars missions
by
characterizing landing sites and providing a high-data-rate communications
relay.

"Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is the next step in our ambitious exploration
of
Mars," said NASA's director, Mars Exploration Program, Science Mission
Directorate, Douglas McCuistion. "We expect to use this spacecraft's eyes in
the
sky in coming years as our primary tools to identify and evaluate the best
places
for future missions to land."

The spacecraft carries six instruments for probing the atmosphere, surface
and
subsurface to characterize the planet and how it changed over time. One of
the
science payload's three cameras will be the largest-diameter telescopic
camera
ever sent to another planet. It will reveal rocks and layers as small as the
width of an office desk. Another camera will expand the present area of
high-
resolution coverage by a factor of 10. A third will provide global maps of
Martian weather.

The other three instruments are a spectrometer for identifying water-related
minerals in patches as small as a baseball infield; a ground-penetrating
radar,
supplied by the Italian Space Agency, to peer beneath the surface for layers
or
rock, ice and, if present, water; and a radiometer to monitor atmospheric
dust,
water vapor and temperature.
-more-

-2-

Two additional scientific investigations will analyze the motion of the
spacecraft in orbit to study the structure of the upper atmosphere and the
Martian gravity field.

"We will keep pursuing a follow-the-water strategy with Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter," said Dr. Michael Meyer, Mars exploration chief scientist at NASA
Headquarters. "Dramatic discoveries by Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey
and the
Mars Exploration Rovers about recent gullies, near-surface permafrost and
ancient
surface water have given us a new Mars in the past few years. Learning more
about
what has happened to the water will focus searches for possible Martian
life,
past or present."

Dr. Richard Zurek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena,
Calif.,
project scientist for the orbiter, said, "Higher resolution is a major
driver for
this mission. Every time we look with increased resolution, Mars has said,
'Here's something you didn't expect. You don't understand me yet.' We're
sure to
find surprises."

The orbiter will reach Mars in March 2006. It will gradually adjust the
shape of
its orbit by aerobraking, a technique that uses the friction of careful dips
into
the planet's upper atmosphere. For the mission's 25-month primary science
phase,
beginning in November 2006, the planned orbit averages about 190 miles above
the
surface, more than 20 percent lower than the average for any of the three
current
Mars orbiters. The lower orbit adds to the ability to see Mars as it has
never
been seen before.

To get information from its instruments to Earth, the orbiter carries the
biggest
antenna ever sent to Mars and a transmitter powered by large solar panels.
"It
can send 10 times as much data per minute as any previous Mars spacecraft,"
said
JPL's James Graf, project manager. "This increased return multiplies the
value of
the instruments by permitting increased coverage of the surface at higher
resolution than ever before. The same telecommunications gear will be used
to
relay critical science data to Earth from landers."

To loft so big a spacecraft, weighing more than two tons fully fueled, NASA
will
use a powerful Atlas V launch vehicle for the first time on an
interplanetary
mission.

The mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, for the NASA Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed
Martin
Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the
spacecraft.

For information about Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mro

-end-


--
--------------

Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info