Johannesburg Centre, Astronomical Society of Southern Africa

Mars Odyssey Ready to Tackle Science Agenda

by Leonard David
space.com

21 January 2002

RENO, NEVADA - NASA's Mars Odyssey is ready to start science duties as it circles the Red Planet. The spacecraft completed a set of aerobraking maneuvers January 11 following weeks of dipping in and out of Mars' thin atmosphere in order to tighten its orbit around the planet.

An upcoming and key event is deployment of Odyssey's high-gain antenna. That equipment is crucial in relaying to Earth quantities of data to be gleaned by the spacecraft's science instruments. The antenna is to be released and deployed with a motor-driven hinge.

If you have access to the Internet, you can view the full story here:

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/odyssey_update_020121.html

Hits since October 2003: Hit Counter  

Neither ASSA nor the Johannesburg Centre is responsible for the content of any site to which this web presence might be linked. The opinions expressed by our contributors are not necessarily those of the Society. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information presented on this site, nor for its use or the consequences thereof.

Comments & Suggestions? Mail to webmaster@assajhb.co.za