Mars Orbiter Completes Maneuver To Prepare For Comet Flyby | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.19.25

Airborne-NextGen-05.20.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.21.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-05.22.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.23.25

Thu, Aug 07, 2014

Mars Orbiter Completes Maneuver To Prepare For Comet Flyby

Precautionary Orbit Change To Protect The Spacecraft

NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has successfully adjusted the timing of its orbit around Mars as a defensive precaution for a comet's close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19, 2014.

The orbiter fired thrusters for five and a half seconds on Tuesday, Aug. 5. The maneuver was calculated to place the orbiter behind Mars during the half hour on the flyby date when dust particles released from comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring are most likely to reach Mars. The nucleus of the comet will miss Mars by about one-third of the distance between Earth and Earth's moon.

"The modeling predictions for comet Siding Spring suggest a dust-particle impact would not be likely in any case, but this maneuver has given us an added protection," said Mars Odyssey Project Manager David Lehman of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "Those dust particles will be traveling so fast that even one hit could end our mission."

The Tuesday maneuver did not change the shape of Odyssey's orbit, but tweaked the timing. The spacecraft is in a near-polar orbit, circling Mars about once every two hours. The maneuver used four trajectory-correction thrusters, which each provide about 5 pounds (22 newtons) of force. It consumed less than one percent of the orbiter's remaining fuel.

Mars Odyssey has worked at the Red Planet longer than any other Mars mission in history. NASA launched the spacecraft on April 7, 2001, and Odyssey arrived at Mars Oct. 24, 2001. Besides conducting its own scientific observations, the mission provides a communication relay for robots on the Martian surface.

Odyssey is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft. JPL and Lockheed Martin collaborate on operating the spacecraft. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.

(Image provided by NASA)

FMI: www.nasa.gov

 


Advertisement

More News

Airborne 05.19.25: Kolb v Tornados, Philippine Mars, Blackhawk Antler Theft

Also: Tentative AirVenture Airshow Lineup, Supersonic Flight Regs, Private Pilot Oral Exam Guide, Boeing Deal The sport aircraft business can be a tough one... especially when Moth>[...]

Airborne 05.23.25: Global 8000, Qatar B747 Accepted, Aviation Merit Badge

Also: Virtual FLRAA Prototype, IFR-Capable Autonomous A/C, NS-32 Crew, Golden Dome Missile Defense Bombardier announced that the first production Global 8000 successfully completed>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.23.25): On-Course Indication

On-Course Indication An indication on an instrument, which provides the pilot a visual means of determining that the aircraft is located on the centerline of a given navigational t>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.23.25)

“While we are relieved that no one was injured, the destruction of our aircraft will have severe consequences on our operations, and it is a personal blow to our dedicated te>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.23.25)

Aero Linx: Ercoupe Owners Club We fly an airplane that was the peak of pre-World War II development. It took more than a decade and a half before the features of the Ercoupe were t>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC