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Odyssey Leaves For Mars on Saturday

Posted by timothy on from the more-martian-trials dept.

rizzo420 writes: "Looks like NASA is returning to Mars according to this article in the Washington Post. The main objective for this mission is to map the planet to gain a better understanding of the mineral makeup, and as usual, to determine if it is possible that life ever existed on Mars. Overall, it's a pretty interesting read. The article goes into a little detail about the instruments that will be used in the mapping of the Martian surface."

1 of 15 comments (clear)

  1. Odyssey web site by BobGregg · · Score: 3

    Here's the real NASA site for the Odyssey mission:

    http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/

    Of interest:
    * Although the spacecraft arrives at Mars in October, it will use the same aerobraking maneuver used by the earlier Mars Global Surveyor, so it won't actually be ready for operations for another 2-3 months after that.
    * Even after its primary/secondary/whoknows missions are over, Odyssey will act as NASA's primary communications link at Mars, relaying info for/about the other Mars missions over the next few years.