NASA's Odyssey Spacecraft Sets Exploration Record on Mars

Odyssey's longevity enables continued science, including the
monitoring of seasonal changes on Mars from year to year and the most
detailed maps ever made of most of the planet. In 2002, the
spacecraft detected hydrogen just below the surface throughout Mars'
high-latitude regions. The deduction that the hydrogen is in frozen
water prompted NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission, which confirmed
the theory in 2008. Odyssey also carried the first experiment sent to
Mars specifically to prepare for human missions, and found radiation
levels around the planet from solar flares and cosmic rays are two to
three times higher than around Earth.

Odyssey also has served as a communication relay, handling most of the
data sent home by Phoenix and NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit
and Opportunity. Odyssey became the middle link for continuous
observation of Martian weather by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

Odyssey will support the 2012 landing of the Mars Science Laboratory
(MSL) and surface operations of that mission. MSL will assess whether
its landing area has had environmental conditions favorable for
microbial life and preserving evidence about whether life has existed
there. The rover will carry the largest, most advanced set of
instruments for scientific studies ever sent to the Martian surface.

"The Mars program clearly demonstrates that world-class science
coupled with sound and creative engineering equals success and
longevity," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration
Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Other recent NASA spacecraft at Mars include the Mars Global Surveyor
that began orbiting the Red Planet in 1997. The Spirit and
Opportunity rovers landed on Mars in January 2004. They have been
exploring for six years, far surpassing their original 90-day
mission. Phoenix landed May 25, 2008, farther north than any previous
spacecraft to the planet's surface. The mission's biggest surprise
was the discovery of perchlorate, an oxidizing chemical on Earth that
is food for some microbes, but potentially toxic for others. The
solar-powered lander completed its three-month mission and kept
working until sunlight waned two months later. MRO arrived at Mars in
2006 on a search for evidence that water persisted on the planet's
surface for a long period of time.

Odyssey is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in
Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the
spacecraft. JPL and Lockheed Martin collaborate on operating the
spacecraft. For more about the Mars Odyssey mission, visit:

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

Source: NASA

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