Completes First Of Four Planned Course Correction Burns

All is well for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) after carrying out the first of a series of pre planned course adjustment maneuvers.

The orbiter, which lifted off on August 12, completed its first trajectory correction burn Saturday. A cluster of six large thrusters onboard the MRO burned for approximately 15 seconds, placing the orbiter on a truer heading to Mars. Three future correction burns will utilize smaller thrusters to fine-tune the course to the red planet.

"We had an excellent burn," said Wayne Sidney, MRO mission operations lead for Lockheed Martin Space Systems, according to published reports.

"It was right on the mark… that’s the bottom line." 

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will reach Mars and enter orbit in March 2006, and will begin its primary science phase six months later. The mission will examine Mars in unprecedented detail from low orbit, returning several times more data than all previous Mars missions combined.

In addition to analyzing the history and current distribution of Mars' water, the MRO will also be used to inspect possible landing sites for future missions. On those later missions to the red planet, the orbiter will also provide a high-data-rate relay -- similar to a cellular phone tower in space.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/MRO