Mars Odyssey Lifts Off for Mars
Explanation:
Next stop: Mars.
On Saturday the
2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft
lifted off from
Cape Canaveral,
Florida on a path to enter orbit around
Mars in late October.
Pictured
above,
a
Delta II rocket
lifted the robot spacecraft,
located in the nose cone, off the launch pad,
while a camera mounted on the side
of the rocket took the inset picture.
The
Odyssey orbiter will map the locations of
chemical elements and
minerals, look for
evidence of water,
and measure the
Martian radiation environment.
These data will help NASA better determine whether
life ever arose on Mars, better understand the
climate and
geology or Mars, and better plan for
future human exploration.
The spacecraft's name is a tribute to
2001: A Space Odyssey,
an epic fictional story of future space exploration
written by
Arthur C. Clarke.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
