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Space Topics: 2001 Mars Odyssey

Mission Facts

Spacecraft

Spacecraft mass:

  • Total: 725 kilograms/1,598 pounds
  • Instruments: 44 kilograms/97 pounds
  • Spacecraft body: 332 kilograms/732 pounds
  • Fuel: 349 kilograms/769 pounds

Spacecraft description:

  • Box shape body: approximately 2.2 meters x 1.7 meters x 2.6 meters or 7.2 feet x 5.6 feet x 8.5 feet
  • Span with solar panels extended: 5.7 meters/18.7 feet tip-to-tip
  • High Gain Antenna: 1.3 meters diameter/4.2 feet
  • Boom: 6 meters/20 feet long

Mission Timeline

Launch: April 7, 2001

Location: Kennedy Space Center

Launch Vehicle: Delta-7925

Mars arrival: October 24, 2001

Mapping operations begin: January 30, 2002

Primary mission end: August 2004

Extended mission: Began August 24, 2004. Spacecraft continues to collect images, and serve as a communications relay for the Mars Exploration Rovers.

Orbit
Circular, nearly polar and nearly sun-synchronous
Altitude: 400 kilometers
Period: about 120 minutes

Mission cost

Total cost: About $300 million
Development and construction: $165 million
Launch: $53 million
Operations: $79 million