Facts About Mars

Mars Odyssey, launched in April 7, 2001, is a robotic spacecraft which is observing Mars from space. It came into Mars’ orbit on February 19, 2002 and started its scientific observation of the red planet. The mission is part of NASA’s Mars exploration program whose aim is to find out whether Mars contained liquid water and if it harbored life sometime before. Just 1 single celled organism will tell us that Mars is indeed capable of supporting life.

THE MISSION

• Look for rocks that is formed with the presence of water. We all know that some rocks can only form with the presence of water, just like the sedimentary rocks.

• Study the geography of Mars and look for possible water beds.

• Look for possible hydrothermal systems. Scientists are quite sure that there is water beneath the surface of Mars.

EQUIPMENTS

• THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) – A highly advanced camera that not only takes pictures of the surface of Mars, it also detects heat enabling it identify possible hydrothermal systems beneath the surface of the red planet.

• Gamma Ray Spectrometer – Used to analyze the chemical composition and elemental abundance of the Martian surface and it can also detect water in subsurface depths. It is also used to study gamma ray bursts and determine how the depths of the polar caps varies over time.

• MARIE (Mars Radiation Environment Experiment) – Used to determine the levels of space radiation on the way to Mars and in the orbit of Mars. The information that MARIE is providing is highly essential for the safety of the astronauts in space. This is also being done in preparation for possible human explorations of Mars.

It was also during this mission that the process of “aerobreaking” was completely applied. Aerobreaking was tested on the Magellan mission but it had its glorious moment on the Mars Odyssey mission.

Aerobraking is a process of using a planets atmosphere to slow a vehicle down or an orbiter in this case. Remember that the Mars Odyssey will be arriving in Mars at a great speed and if it don’t get to slow down, it might just fly by Mars instead of going into Mars’ orbit. It will take a series of aerobreaking’s before the desired orbit can be achieved. This was a great idea thought about by scientists that enable space crafts to carry more equipments that fuel.

Here is a great video about aerobreaking as explained by a NASA scientist.

The Mars Odyssey mission is a continuing success, right now it is acting as a communications port between the rovers and the Earth and is continuing to map out the Martian surface for future landing sites. As far as the goals of the Mars exploration program is concerned, Mars Odyssey has been living up to expectations, even beyond expectation since the mission has been extended.

Even though the Odyssey is not capable of detecting life on Mars, it is well capable of determining whether the environment in Mars was or is conducive to life. The Oddysey was the first spacecraft that has the capability of detecting subsurface water in Mars.

The Oddysey discovered that the atmosphere in Mars is too thin and it is too cold to have liquid water in the surface. However, it also discovered that there is water trapped beneath the surface of Mars.

It was also the oddysey who discovered the chemical elements and minerals that make up Mars (Carbon, Silicon etc…) and continues to monitor how the geography of Mars is formed over time.

Lastly, and probably the most important, the Odyssey is determining the level of radiation present in Mars. That way we can be prepared whenever a human exploration takes place.

The Phoenix Mars lander is an ongoing success. It is creating its own Mars phoenix pics collection of some sort and is greatly contributing to science. I tried to collect some of the latest Mars pics direct from phoenix on board camera.

Mars phoenix pics collection.

Taken on sol 95 (Day 95) after Phoenix landed on the surface of Mars. This trench is called the “Stone Soup”. It is the deepest trench the Phoenix ever dug, about 7 inches deep. Scientists are very excited to analyze the composition of the soil at that depth.

Another picture of the “stone soup” trench where the depth is clearly seen.

As the Phoenix lander digs, it creates piles out of the dig. This one is called “caterpillar” which is a pile made from the “stone soup” dig. Piles like this also helps scientists identify the composition of the Martian soil. How the pile slopes and the texture of the soil provides information to the scientists. This pile though, does not seem to contain water ice.

A view of the Phoenix’s work place. Shows some of the trenches that Phoenix dug around his workplace. This picture was taken on Sol 90.

A Martian sunrise, taken during Sol 90. The sun doesn’t fully set during the Martian summer. The skylight shown above is a combination of atmospheric dust particles and ice crystals.

Taken during Sol 79. This picture shows a thin layer of ice on the surface of Mars, this picture was taken during sunrise and the ice disappeared after 6am.

This picture was taken on Sol 17. This was a very exciting moment since this was the very first time that Phoenix delivered soil samples to its MECA (Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer) instrument.

A 3D image of a Martian particle. Red is the highest point and purple is the lowest point. 3D images help scientists understand the dust particles that gives Mars its red appearance. The Phoenix Mars lander is the most successful Mars explorer to date. We are getting so close to knowing whether Mars contained an enormous amount of water before and if it is capable of sustaining life. Who knows, maybe Mars was once like Earth before. That’s all for now. Watch out for some more mars phoenix pics collection.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a highly sophisticated spacecraft whose main purpose is to explore Mars from orbit. It has specialized cameras that feeds high resolution images of Mars to our scientists. Another purpose of the orbiter is to map out landing sites for future rovers, the MRO was the one used to map out the landing site of Phoenix, it also helps scientists understand the weather changes in Mars.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter also packs scientific equipments used to analyze the landforms, minerals, ice and stratigraphy (study of rock layers and layering) of Mars.

This $720 million dollar spacecraft was launched on August 12, 2005 and reached Mars’s orbit on March 10, 2006. The MRO is the 5th spacecraft to be operating on Mars’s orbit. The others were the Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Express, and Mars Odyssey. The two rovers Spirit and Opportunity also came before the MRO.

THE MISSION

• Look for evidence that water was once present in Mars and that it existed long enough to support life.
• Map out the Martian landscape with its sophisticated cameras and help in choosing landing sites for the rovers.
• Study the Martian climate, weather and geology.
• Look for the remains of the lost Mars Polar Lander and Beagle 2

THE EQUIPMENTS

• HiRise (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera – The largest and most sophisticated camera ever brought to orbit. Its main purpose is to provide high resolution images that will help scientists study the surface structure of Mars. The HiRise will provide great views of the Martian channels and gullies as well their layerings.

• CTX (Context Imager) Camera – The MRO’s wide angle camera. Its resolution may not be as great as the HiRise but it can take pictures of the Martian surface that spans 30 kilometers across. The CTX will be working together with the HiRise and CRISM. Scientists believe that they are unbeatable tools that will further our study of the Martian surface and environment.

• CRISM (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometers for Mars) – Will be used to answer our “Water” questions. When, where, in what form, how much, and for how long did water flow on the surface of Mars. The CRISM will be used to trace minerals that formed in the presence of water.

• MARCI (Mars Color Imager) – The weather man of the MRO. It collects about 84 daily images to produce a weather report for Mars. MARCI will observe daily and seasonal changes in the atmosphere. It will also be used to observe the polar caps and dust storms as it happens.

• MCS (Mars Climate Sounder) – Will be used to observe the temperature, humidity, pressure, dust content, and water vapor of Mars. Its a very sophisticated equipment that is used to study how the heat of the sun affects the Martian climate and how the atmosphere changes from day to night and from season to season.

• SHARAD (Shallow Subsurface Radar) – Will look inside the crust of Mars, about 1 kilometer deep, in search for liquid water or ice. Sharad will be using radar waves of 15 – 25 MHz that can resolve layers to a maximum of 1 kilometer. SHARAD will be working closely with Mars Express’s MARSIS, which serves the same purpose only that it does not have a great resolution like the SHARAD but it can reach greater depths.

The same with all space mission, there will be great challenges that needs to be addressed. With MRO, the biggest challenge will be its orbital insertion and aerobraking. This is a technique used so that the probe can actually go in to the orbit of Mars, once in orbit there will still be a gruelling aerobraking procedure that will last for 5 months before scientists can actually perform experiments and observations.

Here is a great video that explains the orbital insertion and earobraking process.

As of now the MRO continues to provide unprecedented data and will be able to function for 5 more years if NASA will still need its services. The mission was set for 2 years but it was extended since the MRO is still able to function perfectly.