Mars Reconnaissance Orbits - Essay Example

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a multipurpose US spacecraft built by Lockheed Martinunder the oversight of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It was designed to carry out reconnaissance and Mars exploration from orbit. Many literature materials have been written concerning the spacecraft from its construction in 2001 to 2005 when it was officially launched at the John F. Kennedy Space Centre. The space mission is managed by the JPL at the California Institute of Technology.

The study of the details about this kind of spacecraft will be significance to any reader who might be interested for information regarding the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.Modeling of the MRO came after NASAs successful Mars Global Surveyor that was designed to conduct Mars surveillance from orbit. In its earlier specifications, the satellite design included a large camera for taking high resolution fascinating images of the Mars. This made Jim Garvin, a Mars exploration program scientist with NASA to predict that MRO would be like an orbit microscope.

A visible-near-infrared spectrograph was also to be incorporated in the spacecraft. Five months later, after aero braking, the MRO entered began its major science phase after entering its final science orbit. In this way, it joined five other existing spacecrafts in the vicinity of Mars that were either on the planet surface or in orbit. These other active spacecrafts were: two Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey and Mars Express.MRO is equipped with a set of NASA’s most powerful scientific instruments used in the analysis of minerals, stratigraphy, ice of Mars and landforms.

They include instruments such as radar, cameras and spectrometers. They are significantly used in monitoring of daily surface and atmospheric conditions of the Red Planet, and hosting of new MRO telecommunication systems for further future missions. It is probably remembered for discovery of ice and other startling discoveries on Mars such as dust devils going across the Mars surface and changing of sand dunes in real time as watched by its powerful cameras. The MRO has also helped to establish the cause for the damage of Phoenix spacecraft that went out of touch with the earth and it has generally helped in other spacecrafts to stay in touch with the Earth.

The prime scientific mission of the MRO ended in December 2010, even though NASA still believes that the spacecraft can still do well until 2015. Many new things have been learned about the Red Planet courtesy of the spacecraft. The rover mission is expected to beam back massive data in future through the MRO.Much of the information regarding the MRO is available in books in the library and on websites. To obtain any relevant information, there is a great need to go through all the available literature on MRO.

The findings of the study will also be able to cover all the events and achievements that have been witnessed since the MRO was launched in the space in 2005, the significance improvements and its associated technical challenges being experienced currently (NASA) (CORISTA).ReferencesCORISTA. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 2006. Electronic. 28 February 2014.Hotakainen, Markus. Mars: From Myth and Mystery to Recent Discoveries. 2010.Jet Propulsion Laboratory: California Institute of Technology. 2013.

Electronic. 28 February 2014.NASA. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 08 12 2005. ELectronic. 28 February 2014.Nations, United. Highlights in Space 2006: Progress in Space Science, Technology and Applications, International Cooperation and Space Law. United Nations Publications, 2007.