Space
NASA’s Mars Orbiter to Observe Morning Fog and Surface Frost on Red Planet
Benita Matilda
First Posted: Feb 17, 2014 07:57 AM EST
NASA has tweaked the orbit of one of its longest serving Mars spacecrafts to observe the Martian surface in daylight.
In a latest announcement, space agency NASA revealed that the orbit of the Mars Odyssey spacecraft has been modified in order to help scientists make systematic observations of the morning fogs, clouds and surface frost that develop on the Martian surface in different seasons.
After the 1970s twin Viking orbiter, no other spacecraft has been able to observe morning daylight on the Red Planet. Other spaceships had focused on the afternoon observations when the surface was less hazy. But this orbiter will focus on the planet's surface in morning daylight.
The planned maneuver was executed Tuesday Feb 11. The Odyssey team engineers designed a gentle drift in order to accelerate the spacecraft's shift towards the morning-daylight orbit. The change will occur slowly until the intended orbit geometry is reached. The drift will be halted by another maneuver.
"This veteran spacecraft performed exactly as planned," said Odyssey Project Manager David Lehman of JPL.
According to the space agency, this change will allow the spacecraft to make observations of the changing ground temperatures after sunrise and sunset at several locations on Mars. The systematic observations made will help scientists acquire insight into the composition of the ground. Warm seasons on the Martian slopes and geysers near the Mars pole will also be observed.
"We're teaching an old spacecraft new tricks," said Odyssey Project Scientist Jeffrey Plaut of JPL. "Odyssey will be in position to see Mars in a different light than ever before."
Launched in the year 2001, the spacecraft kick started its scientific mission nearly 12 years ago. During its initial six years on the Martian mission, the orbit was set at 5 o'clock local solar time and later worked at 4 o'clock for the next three years. This time, a past 6 o'clock change was proposed to make daylight observations on south-to-north half of the orbit at 6.45 a.m.. This was proposed by Philip Christensen of Arizona State University in Tempe, principal investigator of orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS).
"We don't know exactly what we're going to find when we get to an orbit where we see the morning just after sunrise," Christensen said in a statement. "We can look for seasonal differences. Are fogs more common in winter or spring? We will look systematically. We will observe clouds in visible light and check the temperature of the ground in infrared."
The engineers explain that after the next orbit adjustment maneuver, the spacecraft will have sufficient propellant to carry its mission for the next 9-10 years. The spacecraft will also serve as a crucial communication relay on the Martian surface.
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First Posted: Feb 17, 2014 07:57 AM EST
NASA has tweaked the orbit of one of its longest serving Mars spacecrafts to observe the Martian surface in daylight.
In a latest announcement, space agency NASA revealed that the orbit of the Mars Odyssey spacecraft has been modified in order to help scientists make systematic observations of the morning fogs, clouds and surface frost that develop on the Martian surface in different seasons.
After the 1970s twin Viking orbiter, no other spacecraft has been able to observe morning daylight on the Red Planet. Other spaceships had focused on the afternoon observations when the surface was less hazy. But this orbiter will focus on the planet's surface in morning daylight.
The planned maneuver was executed Tuesday Feb 11. The Odyssey team engineers designed a gentle drift in order to accelerate the spacecraft's shift towards the morning-daylight orbit. The change will occur slowly until the intended orbit geometry is reached. The drift will be halted by another maneuver.
"This veteran spacecraft performed exactly as planned," said Odyssey Project Manager David Lehman of JPL.
According to the space agency, this change will allow the spacecraft to make observations of the changing ground temperatures after sunrise and sunset at several locations on Mars. The systematic observations made will help scientists acquire insight into the composition of the ground. Warm seasons on the Martian slopes and geysers near the Mars pole will also be observed.
"We're teaching an old spacecraft new tricks," said Odyssey Project Scientist Jeffrey Plaut of JPL. "Odyssey will be in position to see Mars in a different light than ever before."
Launched in the year 2001, the spacecraft kick started its scientific mission nearly 12 years ago. During its initial six years on the Martian mission, the orbit was set at 5 o'clock local solar time and later worked at 4 o'clock for the next three years. This time, a past 6 o'clock change was proposed to make daylight observations on south-to-north half of the orbit at 6.45 a.m.. This was proposed by Philip Christensen of Arizona State University in Tempe, principal investigator of orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS).
"We don't know exactly what we're going to find when we get to an orbit where we see the morning just after sunrise," Christensen said in a statement. "We can look for seasonal differences. Are fogs more common in winter or spring? We will look systematically. We will observe clouds in visible light and check the temperature of the ground in infrared."
The engineers explain that after the next orbit adjustment maneuver, the spacecraft will have sufficient propellant to carry its mission for the next 9-10 years. The spacecraft will also serve as a crucial communication relay on the Martian surface.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone