The Marcian probeMars Odyssey broke the record for staying on Mars this weekby overcomingmore than 3,340 working days on the red planet, since it entered orbit on October 24, 2001. In this wayOdyssey surpassed its predecessorSurveyor, which was in orbit from September 11, 1997 to November 2, 2006.
Mission ofMars OdysseyIt should have been completed in 2004, but NASA decided to extend its operational life. The extra years of life have allowed the space agency many achievements that would not have been possible otherwise, scientist Jeffrey Plaut, a member of the research team, said in a statement.Odyssey from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California. His most outstanding discovery was thediscovery of water ice under the surface of the planetduring its first months in orbit.
In addition, Plaut highlighted theelaboration of higher resolution maps “covering practically the entire planet”, thanks to the photographs captured by the Thermal Emission Imaging system (Themis), a multi-band infrared camera that houses the space probe.
As if that were not enough, the performance ofOdyssey has benefited other missions, such as those performed by the twin robotsSpirit YOpportunity, in addition to the laboratoryPhoenix Mars Lander. It has also given scientists the opportunity toobserve seasonal changes on Mars from year to yearand the cycle of carbon dioxide freezing of the atmosphere in the polar regions during the winter of each hemisphere.
