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New NASA Mars Orbiter Gears Up More Instruments
Pasadena CA (SPX) Apr 17, 2006 NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has successfully tested two more important components of its instrument payload as it adjusts its orbit around the red planet before it begins its scientific mission later this year. Controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Monday that test images taken by the orbiter's Context Camera and Mars Color Imager confirm their performance capabilities. The spacecraft captured the images nearly 10 times farther from the planet than its mission orbital altitude. "The test images show that both cameras will meet or exceed their performance requirements once they're in the low-altitude science orbit, said Michael Malin, team leader for the context camera and principal investigator for the Mars Color Imager. The MRO cameras took the test images two weeks after the orbiter's March 10 arrival at Mars and before the start of its aerobraking cycle, designed to reshape the spacecraft's orbit by using controlled contact with Mars' atmosphere. The MRO currently is following very elongated loops around Mars, with each circuit lasting about 35 hours and taking the orbiter about 27,000 miles (43,000 kilometers) from the planet before swinging back in close. Last Wednesday, controllers initiated a short burn of intermediate-sized thrusters while the orbiter was at its most distant point. This nudged the spacecraft to pass from approximately 70 miles (112 kilometers) to within 66 miles (107 kilometers) of the Martian surface. "This brings us well into Mars' upper atmosphere for the drag pass and will enable the mission to start reducing the orbit to its final science altitude," said JPL's Dan Johnston, the MRO deputy mission manager. After hundreds of passes through the upper atmosphere, the drag will gradually reduce the far point of the orbit until the spacecraft is in a nearly circular orbit every two hours. When the spacecraft reaches its final orbit, its six science instruments will begin their systematic examination of Mars. The Mars Color Imager will view the planet's entire atmosphere and surface every day to monitor changes in clouds, wind-blown dust, polar caps and other variable features. The Context Camera � which will have a resolution of 20 feet (6 meters) per pixel � will be able to identify surface features as small as a basketball court. The images will cover swaths 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) wide. The Context Camera will show how smaller areas examined by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera and the mineral-identifying Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer fit into the broader landscape. The instrument also will allow scientists to detect small-scale changes, such as newly cut gullies, in the broader coverage area. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HIRISE CRISM MRO CTX MRO MARCI JPL Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
Aeroflex Actuators Providing Smooth Motion On MRO Satellite
Hauppauge NY (SPX) Apr 18, 2006Aeroflex's Motion Control Division has announced thatthe Aeroflex provided Solar Array and High-Gain Antenna actuators and controllers aboard the MRO spacecraft (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) performed perfectly during the recently completed Mars orbit insertion burn. |
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