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http://www.jpl.nasa.govContact: Mary Hardin (818) 354-0344
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 19, 2001
2001 MARS ODYSSEY SET TO FIND OUT WHAT MARS IS MADE OF
When NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey launches in April to
explore the fourth planet from the Sun, it will carry a suite
of scientific instruments designed to tell us what makes up
the Martian surface, and provide vital information about
potential radiation hazards for future human explorers."The launch of 2001 Mars Odyssey represents a milestone
in our exploration of Mars -- the first launch in our
restructured Mars Exploration Program we announced last
October," said Dr. Ed Weiler, Associate Administrator for
Space Science, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. "Mars
continues to surprise us at every turn. We expect Odyssey to
remove some of the uncertainties and help us plan where we
must go with future missions."Set for launch April 7 from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Fla., Odyssey is NASA's first mission to Mars since
the loss of two spacecraft in 1999. Other than our Moon, Mars
has attracted more spacecraft exploration attempts than any
other object in the solar system, and no other planet has
proved as daunting to success. Of the 30 missions sent to Mars
by three countries over 40 years, fewer than one-third have
been successful.The Odyssey team conducted vigorous reviews and
incorporated "lessons learned" in the mission plan. "The
project team has looked at the people, processes, and design
to understand and reduce our mission risk," said George Pace,
2001 Mars Odyssey project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. "We haven't been satisfied
with just fixing the problems from the previous missions.
We've been trying to anticipate and prevent other things that
could jeopardize the success of the mission."Odyssey is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a
long-term robotic exploration initiative launched in 1996 with
Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor. "The scientific
trajectory of the restructured Mars Exploration Program begins
a new era of reconnaissance with the Mars Odyssey orbiter,"
said Dr. Jim Garvin, lead scientist for NASA's Mars
Exploration Program. "Odyssey will help identify and
ultimately target those places on Mars where future rovers and
landers must visit to unravel the mysteries of the red
planet."NASA's latest explorer carries three scientific
instruments to map the chemical and mineralogical makeup of
Mars: a thermal-emission imaging system, a gamma ray
spectrometer and a Martian radiation environment experiment.
The imaging system will map the planet with high-resolution
thermal images and give scientists an increased level of
detail to help them understand how the mineralogy of the
planet relates to the landforms. The part of Odyssey's imaging
system that takes pictures in visible light will see objects
with a clarity that fills the gaps between the Viking orbiter
cameras of the 1970s and today's high-resolution images from
Mars Global Surveyor.Like a virtual shovel digging into the surface, Odyssey's
gamma ray spectrometer will allow scientists to peer into the
shallow subsurface of Mars, the upper few centimeters of the
crust, to measure many elements, including the amount of
hydrogen that exists. Since hydrogen is mostly likely present
in the form of water ice, the spectrometer will be able to
measure permanent ground ice and how that changes with the
seasons."For the first time at Mars, we will have a spacecraft
that is equipped to find evidence for present near-surface
water and to map mineral deposits from past water activity,"
said Dr. Steve Saunders, 2001 Mars Odyssey project scientist
at JPL. "Despite the wealth of information from previous
missions, exactly what Mars is made of is not fully known, so
this mission will give us a basic understanding about the
chemistry and mineralogy of the surface."The Martian radiation environment experiment will be the
first to look at radiation levels at Mars as they relate to
the potential hazards faced by future astronauts. The
experiment will take data on the way to Mars and in orbit
around the red planet. After completing its primary mission,
the Odyssey orbiter will provide a communications relay for
future American and international landers, including NASA's
Mars Exploration Rovers, scheduled for launch in 2003.The 2001 Mars Odyssey mission press kit is available online at
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/presskits/odysseylaunch.pdf .
···
----- Original Message -----
From: <[email protected]>
To: <undisclosed-recipients:>
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2001 12:51 PM
Subject: 2001 Mars Odyssey set to find out what Mars is made of
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars
Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science,
Washington, D.C. Principal investigators at Arizona State
University, the University of Arizona and NASA's Johnson Space
Center will operate the science instruments. Lockheed Martin
Astronautics, Denver, Colo., is the prime contractor for the
project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission
operations will be conducted jointly from JPL, a division of
the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and
Lockheed Martin.#####
#2001-061 MAH
3/19/01---------------------------------------------------------------
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