Mars Odyssey in the Context of NASA's Mars Exploration Program

Details Mars Odyssey in the Context of NASA's Mars Exploration Program Mars Odyssey in the Context of NASA's Mars Exploration Program

May 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agusm.p31a..01g&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2002, abstract #P31A-01

Mathematics

Logic

5410 Composition, 5455 Origin And Evolution, 5464 Remote Sensing, 6255 Neptune, 6297 Instruments And Techniques

Scientific paper

The NASA Mars ODYSSEY Orbiter is the second step in NASA's scientific strategy for Mars Exploration during the present decade. ODYSSEY is intended to produce global scale inventories of key elemental characteristics of the uppermost surface layer, as well as the first 100m scale mineralogical assessment of another planet using middle-IR multispectral imaging. In addition, ODYSSEY will provide the first quantitative assessment of the galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) environment in the vicinity of Mars, one of the key steps in preparing the knowledge base necessary to plan for eventual human scientific exploration of the Red Planet. In the context of NASA's restructured Mars Exploration Program (MEP), ODYSSEY will provide new vantage points from which to identify localities on the surface of Mars where liquid water may have been persistent in the past, or where there are existing deposits of near-surface ice. In addition, with its THEMIS middle-IR imaging system, ODYSSEY will search for "thermal anomalies" at 100 m scales in an effort to discover landing sites for future missions. Together with the ongoing Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), ODYSSEY is part of a sustained reconaissance of Mars using a variety of remote sensing approaches, that will culminate with the 2005 Mars Reconaissance Orbiter (MRO). Both MGS and ODYSSEY will help target MRO's high resolution instruments so that the large trade-space of scientifically compelling landing sites for Mars can be prioritized to a top few. ODYSSEY will direct MRO, and subsequently MRO will direct the 2009 Mars Smart Lander (aka Mobile Surface Laboratory) to conduct surface-based reconaissance and definitive in situ measurements of key constituents of the "Mars System". Thus, ODYSSEY will provide both context and direction in the near-term scientific exploration of Mars. Most immediately, data from ODYSSEY will contribute to the landing site assessments that are ongoing in support of the early 2004 landings of the twin Mars Exploration Rovers.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Mars Odyssey in the Context of NASA's Mars Exploration Program does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Mars Odyssey in the Context of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Mars Odyssey in the Context of NASA's Mars Exploration Program will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1721670