Astronomy Down Under

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reaches final orbit

14 Sep at 16:15 by Wilson

After six months doing complex aerobraking manoeuvres (which basically mean that the orbiter would go close enough to the planet to have its speed reduced by contact with the atmosphere), MRO has now reached its final orbit and is ready to start working on its science objectives.

MRO reached Mars back in March, and assumed a highly elliptical orbit that took it as far as 45,000km away from the planet (and as close as 100km). The final orbit it now reached is almost circular, with a maximum altitude of just under 500km. It has also adjusted the orientation of the orbit so that the lowest point of the trajectory happens over the Martian South Pole, with the highest point over the North Pole.

The orbiter will spend a few weeks deploying and adjusting instruments and solar panels, and the science phase is expected to begin in earnest in November. The first high-resolution images of the surface (taken with the HiRISE instrument and showing the ground with a 1-metre resolution) will probably start to come in at the end of this month.

I wrote a bit about the MRO last year, and the JPL mission website has loads of information and pictures.