Apr 7 2001
From The Space Library
The Mars Odyssey spacecraft launched successfully aboard a Delta 2 rocket. The craft, built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems]] and controlled by scientists at NASA’s JPL, had headed to orbit Mars in search of evidence of water on the Red Planet. NASA officials expected the trip to Mars to take more than six months and the data collection to continue for more than two years. NASA had designed Mars Odyssey~ equipping it with a thermal-emissions imaging system, a gamma-ray spectrometer, and a radiation monitor~ to investigate further the question of whether Mars might have once supported life. By collecting data about the climate and geology of Mars’s surface, scientists hoped to explore theories regarding the planet’s seemingly harsh climate change. NASA and members of the scientific community watched the US$300 million craft closely, hoping for success. In 1999 Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander had both failed to accomplish their missions. Upon the successful launch, NASA’s chief Mars program scientist celebrated: “We’ve got a program! This is the next step . . . It’s kind of like setting off on the Lewis and Clark voyage across North America. We’re bound for a new frontier.” (Lockheed Martin Space Systems]], “Lockheed Martin-Built 2001 Mars Odyssey Successfully Launched, Begins Journey to Mars,” news release, 7 April 2001, http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2001/LockheedMartinBuilt2001MarsOdysseyS.html (accessed 28 January 2010); William Harwood, “Mars Odyssey Takes Off for Red Planet; NASA’s Stalled Exploration Program Resumes with $297 Million Mission,” Washington Post, 8 April 2001; Mark Carreau, “Flawless Odyssey Launch Fuels Hoe: Three-Year Mission to Mars Follows Pair of NASA Failures,” Houston Chronicle, 8 April 2001; Marcia Dunn for Associated Press, “NASA Succeeds in Launching Craft To Survey Mars Anxious Time Ahead for Scientists,” 8 April 2001.)
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