Word: marse
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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It's hard to get nonchalant about missions to Mars, but Americans may be doing just that. With those gritty rovers Spirit and Opportunity still making fresh tracks in the Red Planet's soil, most folks have overlooked the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), poised for launch on Friday morning from...
Weighing more than a ton before fueling and more than twice that with its tanks full, MRO is one of the biggest ships ever hurled towards Mars. Part of the reason for the heft is the suite of instruments it carries, including the largest diameter telescopic camera ever sent to...
The unusually sharp vision the imaging instruments will give the MRO, coupled with it's low, 190-mi. orbit - 20% closer than any of the other three spacecraft currently orbiting Mars - mean it will get the best look yet at Martian surface features, including possible shorelines left behind by vanished...
Should the liftoff take place as planned, it will be another 15 months before the spacecraft settles into its low, circular orbit around Mars. After that, it will have a full two years to conduct its surveillance work - a long life for a robot ship, and one that should return...
Should NASA even bother with these finicky ships? It costs half a billion dollars every time a shuttle flies, and one major purpose this time was to transport 15 tons of supplies to the space station and off-load 13 tons of trash. A half-billion-dollar rubbish run is...