[meteorite-list] Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Status - September 14, 2005

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Sep 14 19:25:49 2005
Message-ID: <200509142324.j8ENOd224995_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2005-146

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

2005-146

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Status
September 14, 2005

Three cameras on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter worked as expected
in a test pointing them at the moon and stars on Sept. 8.

"We feel great about how the camera performed and can hardly wait to see
what it will show us at Mars," said Dr. Alfred McEwen of the University
of Arizona, Tucson, principal investigator for the High Resolution
Imaging Science Experiment aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The test also checked operation of the spacecraft's Context Camera and
Optical Navigation Camera, plus the spacecraft's high-gain antenna and
systems for handling and distributing data from the instruments.

"The instruments and the ground data system passed this test with flying
colors," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Manager Jim Graf of
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We received 75
gigabits of data in less than 24 hours, which is a new one-day record
for any interplanetary mission."

The spacecraft was about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) from
the moon when it turned to slew the cameras' fields of view across that
test target. At that distance, the moon would appear as a single
star-like dot to the unaided eye. In the test images by the
high-resolution camera, it is about 340 pixels in diameter and appears
as a crescent about 60 pixels wide. The tests also included imaging of
the star cluster Omega Centauri for data to use in calibrating the camera.

During its primary science mission at Mars, the spacecraft will orbit
within about 300 kilometers (186 miles) of that planet's surface. From
that distance, the high-resolution camera will discern objects as small
as one meter or yard across.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, will reach Mars
and enter orbit on about March 10, 2006. After gradually adjusting the
shape of its orbit for half a year, it will begin its primary science
phase in November 2006. The mission will examine Mars in unprecedented
detail from low orbit, returning several times more data than all
previous Mars missions combined. Scientists will use its instruments to
gain a better understanding of the history and current distribution of
Mars' water. By inspecting possible landing sites and by providing a
high-data-rate relay, it will also support future missions that land on
Mars.

More information about the mission, including new test images of the
moon by the high-resolution camera, is available online at
http://www.nasa.gov/mro.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 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, prime
contractor for the project, built both the spacecraft and the launch
vehicle. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., built the
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment instrument for the University
of Arizona to provide to the mission. Malin Space Science Systems, San
Diego, Calif., provided the Context Camera. JPL provided the Optical
Navigation Camera.
Received on Wed 14 Sep 2005 07:24:39 PM PDT