Joseph likes Astronomy, and they have been talking about 2001 Mars Odyssey the robotic spacecraft that orbited the planet Mars and was launched on a day like today in 2001.
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 a thermal imager to detect evidence of past or present water and ice, as well as study the planet's geology and radiation environment.
It is hoped that the data Odyssey obtains will help answer whether life existed on Mars and create a risk-assessment of the radiation that future astronauts on Mars might experience. It also acts as a relay for communications between the Curiosity rover, and previously the Mars Exploration Rovers and Phoenix lander, to Earth.
The mission was named in a tribute to Arthur C. Clarke, evoking the name of his and Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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 02:30 UTC (October 23, 19:30 PDT, 22:30 EDT).
On May 28, 2002, NASA reported that Odyssey's GRS instrument had detected large amounts of hydrogen, a sign that there must be ice lying within a meter of the planet's surface, and proceeded to map the distribution of water below the shallow surface. The orbiter also discovered vast deposits of bulk water ice near the surface of equatorial regions.
By December 15, 2010, it broke the record for longest serving spacecraft on Mars, with 3,340 days of operation.
Odyssey has also served as the
primary means of communications for NASA's Mars surface explorers in the
past decade, up to the Curiosity rover. It currently holds the record
for the longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a
planet other than Earth, ahead of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (served 14
years) and the Mars Express (serving over 17 years), at 19 years, 5
months and 21 days. As of 2019 October it is in a polar orbit around
Mars with a semi-major axis of about 3,800 km or 2,400 miles. It has
enough propellant to function until 2025.
More information: NASA
In August 2000, NASA solicited candidate names for the mission. Out of 200 names submitted, the committee chose Astrobiological Reconnaissance and Elemental Surveyor, abbreviated ARES, a tribute to Ares, the Greek god of war. Faced with criticism that this name was not very compelling, and too aggressive, the naming committee reconvened.
The candidate name 2001 Mars Odyssey had earlier been rejected because of copyright and trademark concerns. However, NASA e-mailed Arthur C. Clarke in Sri Lanka, who responded that he would be delighted to have the mission named after his books, and he had no objections.
On September 20, NASA associate administrator Ed Weiler wrote to the associate administrator for public affairs recommending a name change from ARES to 2001 Mars Odyssey. Peggy Wilhide then approved the name change.
-Mapping the levels of elements across the entire Martian surface.
-Determine how much hydrogen exists within the shallow subsurface.
-Develop a library of high-resolution images and spectroscopy for the mineral composition of the Martian surface.
-Provide information on the morphology of the Martian surface.
-Identify the radiation-induced risk to human explorers through a characterization of the near-space radiation environment on the Martian surface.
Mars Odyssey launched from Cape Canaveral on April 7, 2001, and arrived at Mars about 200 days later on October 24.
The spacecraft's main engine fired in order to decelerate, which allowed it to be captured into orbit around Mars. Odyssey then spent about three months aerobraking, using aerodynamic drag from the upper reaches of the Martian atmosphere to gradually slow down and reduce and circularize its orbit.
By planning to use the atmosphere of Mars to slow the spacecraft in its orbit rather than firing its engine or thrusters, Odyssey did not need an additional 200 kilograms of propellant onboard. This reduction in spacecraft weight allowed the mission to be launched on a Delta II 7925 launch vehicle, rather than a larger, more expensive launcher.
By 2008, Mars Odyssey had mapped the basic distribution of water below the shallow surface. The ground truth for its measurements came on July 31, 2008, when NASA announced that the Phoenix lander confirmed the presence of water on Mars, 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.
The orbiter also discovered vast deposits of bulk water ice near the surface of equatorial regions. Evidence for equatorial hydration is both morphological and compositional and is seen at both the Medusae Fossae formation and the Tharsis Montes.
More information: Space
since the first water creatures reconnoitred the land.
Like all living systems, cultures cannot remain static;
they evolve or decline. They explore or expire.
Buzz Aldrin
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