Tags: NASA, Lockheed Martin, JPL, Mars Odyssey
Publication: Phys.org
Publication Date: 11/16/2012

NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars’ south pole in this artist’s concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. Image credit: NASA/JPL

NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter resumed duty after switching to a back-up system that the satellite had never used in its 11 years of operations.

The mission managers decided to perform this switch to the secondary computer aboard the satellite as a preventive move after having trouble with the primary computer’s gyroscope and other signs of age even though diagnostics indicated that the unit still had a few more months of useful life. This way, if anything happened to the back-up system, mission managers could always go back temporarily to the primary system until the problem is resolved.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the Mars Odyssey and the company collaborates on its operation together with JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The Odyssey is the longest-working spacecraft ever sent to Mars.

The Odyssey is the longest-working spacecraft ever sent to Mars. It launched April 7, 2011 and began orbiting the red planet Oct. 24 that same year. The satellite performs scientific observations and serves as communication relay for other missions.

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