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2001 Mars Odyssey is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million.
- April 7, 2001, 15:02:22 UTC
- Delta II 7925-9.5
- 725 kg
Apr 7, 2000 · The 2001 Mars Odyssey mission was the first spacecraft to make a global map of the amount and distribution of chemical elements and minerals that make up the Martian surface. The spacecraft also holds the record for the longest continually active mission in orbit around a planet other than Earth.
Dave Dooling. 2001 Mars Odyssey, U.S. spacecraft that studies Mars from orbit and served as a communication relay for the Mars Exploration Rovers and Phoenix.
- Dave Dooling
Apr 1, 2001 · NASA. Apr 01, 2001. Image Article. The Mars Odyssey was launched from Cape Canaveral, FL and reached Mars six months later. The mission’s objectives included mapping the surface of the planet and the distribution of chemicals and minerals. These maps lead scientists to discover water ice in the polar regions buried beneath the surface.
Apr 7, 2001 · April 7, 2001. Type. Orbiter. Target. Mars. Status. Current. About the mission. With more than 10 years in orbit and counting, the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft has spent more time in orbit around the Red Planet, collecting data on Mars' climate and geology, than any other spacecraft in history.
Mars without (on left) and with a global dust storm in July 2001 (on right), as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. Of all the planets in the Solar System, the seasons of Mars are the most Earth-like, due to the similar tilts of the two planets' rotational axes.
October 24, 2001 Mars Odyssey reaches the red planet and is captured by its gravity into an egg-shaped elliptical orbit around the planet. Its mission is to orbit Mars and determine the composition of the Martian surface, to detect water and shallow buried ice, and to study the radiation environment.
