Latest Mars Climate Orbiter Stories

LOS ANGELES - A NASA spacecraft successfully slipped into orbit around Mars Friday, joining a trio of orbiters already circling the Red Planet.Scientists cheered after the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter emerged from the planet's shadow and signaled to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that the maneuver was a success."Oh I am very relieved," project manager Jim Graf said minutes later. "It was picture perfect."The two-ton spacecraft is the most sophisticated ever to arrive at...

By Dan WhitcombPASADENA, California -- Jittery NASA scientists waited on Wednesday for the most advanced spacecraft ever sent to another planet to make its risky final approach to Mars, where it is due to return 10 times the data of all previous probes put together.NASA's unmanned Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has traveled some 300 million miles since leaving Earth in August, was due to enter its most delicate phase on Friday. It will try too ease into orbit around Mars, which has...

By Deborah ZabarenkoWASHINGTON -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is headed into a perilous phase after a seven-month journey from Earth, aiming to start looping around the Red Planet on March 10, space agency officials said on Friday.If it manages to reach its planned orbit, a process that will take another seven months, the spacecraft could collect unprecedented data about Earth's next-door planetary neighbor, which could help scientists determine where to land the next Mars rovers and...

JPL -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched on Aug. 12, has completed one of the first tasks of its seven-month cruise to Mars, a calibration activity for the spacecraft's Mars Color Imager instrument."We have transitioned from launch mode to cruise mode, and the spacecraft continues to perform extremely well," said Dan Johnston, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter deputy mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.The first and largest of four trajectory...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA on Thursday postponed the launch of its next Mars probe due to a problem with sensors on the spacecraft's Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rocket. Liftoff of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was rescheduled for Friday between 7:43 and 9:43 a.m. EDT. Thursday's launch was first delayed by overnight rain that forced the launch team to postpone fueling of the Atlas booster. Then, shortly before the end of two-hour launch window, the flight was canceled for the day to...

MIAMI (Reuters) - NASA has delayed Wednesday's launch of an unmanned spacecraft to Mars because of a technical problem that might affect its launch vehicle, the agency said on Tuesday. The launch of the two-ton Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on top of a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will be postponed for at least 24 hours, said spokesman George Diller. Engineers found a failure in the navigational controls of a similar Atlas V launch vehicle and need to...

MIAMI -- NASA has delayed Wednesday's launch of an unmanned spacecraft to Mars because of a technical problem that might affect its launch vehicle, the agency said on Tuesday.The launch of the two-ton Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on top of a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will be postponed for at least 24 hours, said spokesman George Diller.Engineers found a failure in the navigational controls of a similar Atlas V launch vehicle and need to make sure the...

LOS ANGELES -- A year and a half after twin robot rovers thrilled space fans with their hijinks on Mars, NASA is heading there again. A fourth Mars orbiter is set to blast off Wednesday, carrying some of the most sophisticated science instruments ever sent into space. Circling the Red Planet, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will scan the desolate surface in search of sites to land more robotic explorers in the next decade. "It's time we start peeling back the onion layer and start...

JPL -- NASA's next mission to Mars will examine the red planet in unprecedented detail from low orbit and provide more data about the intriguing planet than all previous missions combined. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and its launch vehicle are nearing final stages of preparation at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., for a launch opportunity that begins Aug. 10.The spacecraft will examine Martian features ranging from the top of the atmosphere to underground layering. Researchers will use...

Counting down the top ten astrobiology stories for 2004 highlights the accomplishments of those exploring Mars, Saturn, comets, and planets beyond Pluto. Number eight in this countdown was the Mars Express mission, the most complete study of martian topography and water from below the surface to the upper atmosphere. Astrobiology Magazine -- Number eight on the countdown of 2004 highlights was the assembly of the Mars satellite constellation. With two surface rovers active, even more...