A Day In Astronomy: The Launch of the Mars Odyssey

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Source): The Mars Odyssey orbiter. (NASA)

On this day in 2001, NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter was launched towards Mars to map and search the Red Planet for water. The mission itself took its name from Arthur C. Clarke’s novel 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Mars Odyssey successfully discovered Martian water. Project Scientist Jeffrey Plaut of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the Odyssey mission, stated that “Before Odyssey, we didn’t know where this water was stored on the planet…We detected it for the first time from orbit and later confirmed it was there using the Phoenix lander.”

In addition to conducting its own studies, the Mars Odyssey was also used as a space satellite relaying data between Earth and Mars from other scientific missions, such as NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers. The orbiter is part of what is called the Mars Relay Network, currently consisting of five orbiters (see below).

The Mars Odyssey is now the oldest oldest spacecraft still working at the Red Planet. It should be able to continue its work through 2025. You can find more information about the mission from this NASA site.

Image (Credit): Five spacecraft currently in orbit about the Red Planet make up the Mars Relay Network to transmit commands from Earth to surface missions and receive science data back from them. Clockwise from top left: NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN), Mars Odyssey, and the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Mars Express and Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO). (NASA/JPL-Caltech, ESA)

Strange Happenings on Mars

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Modified image of the Martian surface. (CSA)

Here is what the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) tweeted about this image:

Wow! While travelling on the surface of Mars, the Perseverance rover found the place where all the missing socks from the dryer end up!

Okay, it is from this time last year, but it’s still funny. Happy April Fools’ Day!

Status of NASA’s Martian Mission

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA’s Perseverance Rover on Mars. (NASA)

Now that we have learned a little more about China’s Martian rover, maybe we should check on NASA’s Perseverance Rover. According to a recent press release from NASA, earlier this month Perseverance started its three-mile trip to the river delta on the rim of Jezero Crater after already exploring the Martian surface for about 13 months. This delta may contain evidence of ancient microbial life. As with the Chinese rover mission, the collected samples will be returned to Earth via a later mission.

The Perseverance arrived on the Martian surface February 18, 2021. The mission has already shown success with the Ingenuity Helicopter, while the rover is showing greater abilities to self-navigate. All of this is proving to be promising for future robotic exploration of the planet.

You can get facts about the Perseverance mission here and ongoing updates here.

Chinese Martian Rover Images

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Two images from China’s Martian Rover Zhurong. (CNCA)

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) Watcher site posted the above before and after selfies taken by the Zhurong Mars Rover. The top shot was taken on May 19, 2021 and the bottom shot on January 22, 2022. You can see the dust that has accumulated in less than a year on the rover’s panels. The site notes that the rover has the ability to vibrate and loosen the accumulated dust.

China launched Tianwen-1, which carried the rover, on July 23, 2020. It went into orbit around Mars in February 2021, with the Zhurong Rover landing on the Martian surface on May 14, 2021. China sent the rover to the Red Planet to find evidence of water. If all goes well, China hopes to bring a Martian samples back to Earth in a subsequent mission. The Planetary Society has some helpful information here on the Chinese mission.

Image (Credit): China’s Mars Rover Zhurong next to its landing platform on the surface of the red planet. (CNSA)

Movies: A Romance Set on Mars

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Upcoming HBO movie Moonshot. (HBO)

On March 31st you can can watch another space-related movie, though this one has a misleading name. Called Moonshot, the setting is actually a space colony on Mars. You can watch a trailer of the HBO Max movie here.

While its just a platform for a young adult romantic comedy, it will be fun to see how the film portrays life on the Red Planet. Given that it includes a stowaway on the trip to Mars, you have to wonder what kind of space program these people are running when every pound of extra weight is critical.

Of course, Netflix already did the Mars mission stowaway story in last year’s film Stowaway.

So don’t think too hard. Just enjoy the spacecraft and scenery.

Update: While the common complaint is that a Martian film should not be using “Moon” in its title, the Rotten Tomatoe’s Tomatometer gave it a 62 percent score. He is one reviewer’s comments (in podcast form):

‘Moonshot’ has some interesting things to say about the environment, capitalism and greed. Oh, and the interiors of the ship are very cute and the robots are very fun!