Oct 3 2001
From The Space Library
NASA announced the selection of Lockheed Martin to construct Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), scheduled to launch in August 2005. Under the US$145 million contract, Lockheed Martin would be responsible for building the orbiter and for integrating and testing six scientific instruments and two engineering payloads. In addition, Lockheed Martin would provide operations support for spacecraft during its five and one-half year mission. Odyssey, designed for low-altitude remote sensing of Mars, would include an atmospheric sounder; a context imager; a high-resolution camera; a shallow, subsurface, sounding radar; a visible, near-infrared imaging spectrometer; and a wide-angle color imager. NASA engineers planned to use Odyssey’s images to help determine landing sites for future Mars missions. NASA also planned for the spacecraft to provide telecommunications and navigation relay capability for future missions to the planet. (NASA, “NASA Selects Spacecraft Contractor for 2005 Mars Mission,” news release c01-w, 3 October 2001; Lockheed Martin, “Lockheed Martin Chosen by NASA and JPL to Build the 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,” 3 October 2001, http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2001/LockheedMartinChosenByNASAJPL Build2.html (accessed 28 January 2010).
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