2001 Mars Odyssey to map minerals, check radiation

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

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2001 Mars Odyssey to map minerals, check radiation



WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey 

spacecraft, set for launch on April 7, aims to find out what Earth's 

planetary neighbor is made of and evaluate radiation that could be 

risky to humans, space agency officials said on Monday. 



Admittedly snake-bit by earlier failed missions, the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration has spent about $12 million 

on additional reviews to cut down on the possibility of failure. The 

total cost of the unmanned orbital mission is $297 million. 



The Odyssey, named in honor of the book and movie "2001: A 

Space Odyssey," is the first in a retooled exploration strategy for 

this planet following the 1999 losses of the Mars Climate Orbiter 

and the Mars Polar Lander. 



The Mars Polar Lander smashed to the surface after a false signal 

caused its engines shut off before it landed. Two associated probes 

supposedly designed to crash and burrow into the planet's surface 

simply disappeared. 



The Mars Climate Orbiter burned up in the planet's atmosphere 

after an embarrassing misunderstanding over English and metric 

measurements. 



"Our long-term quest is to understand Mars as a planet, its climate 

and geological history," Ed Weiler, head of NASA's office of space 

science, said at a news briefing. 



To do this, Odyssey will carry a suite of scientific instruments 

including a thermal emission imaging system, a gamma ray 

spectrometer and an experiment to check the Martian radiation 

environment. 



The main structure of the craft is about the size of a subcompact 

car, but its solar panels have a wingspan of about 19 feet (5.8 

meters). It weighs about 1,600 pounds (725 kg) and will travel 286 

million miles (460 million km) to get to Mars, arriving in October. 



The thermal imaging system will look for hot spots on the planet 

where gas or water might be escaping, Weiler said. He dubbed 

these possible features as "Martian Yellowstones," after the 

geysers in the U.S. national park of that name. 



The gamma ray spectrometer will seek to determine by looking 

what the mineral composition of the upper layer of the Martian 

surface, down to perhaps a depth of 3 feet (1 metre). 



The radiation experiment is meant to check the dangers to 

possible human explorers, although no human mission to Mars is 

even in the early planning stages at NASA, Weiler said. 



FIRST FIND THE WATER 



"Before we can even contemplate human missions to Mars, we 

really have to understand Mars as a planet," Weiler said. "We have 

to understand what the radiation environment is and if there is 

water." 



The importance of water on Mars has been central to NASA's 

pursuit of the planet, since earlier missions have determined that 

liquid water once existed there. Water is seen as a prerequisite for 

life, and as Weiler noted, is a key factor in easing any human 

mission. 



Any human voyagers to Mars would have to travel light, so they 

would be able to bring little water with them. 



"I'm not saying necessarily drinking water, but water has a lot of 

other uses," Weiler said. "It's conveniently made of hydrogen and 

oxygen. Oxygen is pretty good stuff to breathe, hydrogen is pretty 

good stuff to use as fuel." 



The current strategy of looking for water and "interesting spots" 

where water might exist could lead eventually to human missions, 

but the timing of those would be up to the economy, the 

administration and Congress, Weiler said. 



The next step in the progression of Mars exploration would be a 

mission to collect samples and return them to Earth, and NASA 

Mars program director Scott Hubbard said that was currently 

envisioned for a mission to be launched in 2014, though that might 

be pushed forward to 2011. 



The Odyssey is the first of six planned missions to Mars. A pair of 

rovers that will land on the planet is set for launch in 2003; and a 

scientific orbiter will be launched in 2005. 



By 2007 and beyond, there would be a series of "smart lander" 

craft that would be able to sense whether it was close to its target, 

and in the seconds before landing would be able to steer away from 

hazards to set down safely. 



More information about 2001 Mars Odyssey is available online at 

http:/mars.jpl.nasa.gov/. 



**************************************************************************

Sandy Perle                                     Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100                                     

Director, Technical                             Extension 2306                                  

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service         Fax:(714) 668-3149                                          

ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.                       E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net                                                      

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue           E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com                       

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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