NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been successfully launched.
The orbiter's mission is to see if long-standing bodies of water ever existed on Mars. This could help determine whether the planet ever had water long enough to provide a habitat for life.
The spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 7:43 AM EDT morning aboard NASA's first Atlas V rocket.
The US space agency reports that it is healthy, performing as designed, communicating with ground stations and unfurling its solar arrays.
The spacecraft now begins a seven-month journey to Mars, followed by six months of refining its orbit.
The launch follows two failed attempts. Yesterday's attempt was abandoned because of a fuel sensor problem and Wednesday's was cancelled following concerns over the failure of a gyroscope of the type used in the Atlas V.
No comments:
Post a Comment