This is the first spacecraft launched to Mars after two spacecraft failed one after the other in 1999
Tamara Traubman
If there are no last-minute problems, the Mars Odyssey 2001 spacecraft will be launched to Mars tomorrow. Around eight o'clock in the evening, the spacecraft will leave the launch base in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for a journey of about six months in space, at the end of which it will reach the "Red Planet" and circle around it like a satellite.
If the spacecraft reaches Mars safely, it will collect information about the planet's soil structure, look for signs of water and provide vital information about the radiation there.
And the danger lies in it for people who might end up there in the future.
Much rests on the shoulders of "Odyssey" (""Mars Odyssey 2001"), which was established
at a cost of 297 million dollars. This is the first spacecraft launched to Mars
After in 1999 two spaceships failed one after the other. Odyssey is too
The first spacecraft that NASA sends to Mars after fundamental changes
In her Mars program, Laur
Discovering the reasons for the previous failures.
The 1999 double failure of the "Mars Climate Orbiter" and "Mars
Fuller Lander”, led to a reorganization of project control
and its operation, as well as for more rigorous inspections - even at the cost of delaying deadlines
launch of spacecraft.
From documents published by NASA this week, it becomes clear that the additional tests and changes
which had to be carried out with rigor increased the cost of Odyssey alone by about 12
million dollar.
"We are full of anticipation," said George Pace, project manager, yesterday
The Odyssey at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which manages the project
for NASA. "The question on everyone's mind is 'will it work?' It
Must work."
Success in the Odyssey mission will strengthen NASA's hands to continue the program
Ambitious, as part of which a robot will be sent to Mars to collect soil samples
and rocks and will return them to the earth. This plan will not be implemented before 2011
Failure of the mission, however, would deal a severe blow to the Mars exploration program
of NASA, and will harm its ambition to launch a spacecraft there at every launch opportunity (all
26 months).
An independent investigative team and internal NASA review teams determined that
The failure of the two previous spacecraft was due to mismanagement of procedures
The tests and lack of budget.
According to the teams, NASA wanted to send many spacecraft to Mars, and therefore
The allocation to each project is about 30% less than the budget it needs. the orbiter
Destroyed due to a software error, which resulted from confusion between the metric measurement system
to the British system, which uses inches. Contact with the lander was lost moments later
Before it was supposed to land on Mars, probably as a result of a mistaken signal he caused
a spaceship
To think that it had already reached the ground when it was actually at a height of about 40 meters
In the air.
"In the establishment of the Odyssey," said Fais yesterday, "instead of just fixing the problems
that caused the failure of the previous missions, we tried to anticipate and prevent
A long list of possible risks." To avoid further embarrassing confusion
Between inches and centimeters, Pace explained, “a detailed record is kept of
The measurement method used at every stage in the development of the spacecraft". Additionally,
“Odyssey will enter a higher orbit around Mars to reduce the
The risk that you will get too close to the atmosphere and be pulled away
down".
If Odyssey does make it safely to Mars, it may shed light on some
From the mystery surrounding the planet. The instruments carried by the spacecraft are not
are able to detect signs of life, but scientists expect the information they will convey
The devices will help to understand if the conditions on Mars allowed, and maybe still
enable, existence of life.
One of the systems installed on the Odyssey is the Imaging System
Thermal Emission The system can measure light rays in the visible range
and in the field of infrared returned from Mars. This is how their distribution can be mapped
of minerals such as coals, sulfurs, silicates, etc., which are slightly below
to the surface of Mars.
The device "Spectrum meter for measuring gamma rays" will make it possible to test with the methods of
Remote sensing of what lies beneath the surface. The device detects chemical elements
and determines their concentrations. He will also be able to calculate the hydrogen concentrations, and so on
Infer whether there is water or ice near the surface.
In the photographs that spacecraft have sent in the past from Mars, a landscape route that seems to be visible
Formed by flowing water: channels, canyons and similar land formations
Very much an ancient coastline. Scientists also believe that beneath the surface of Mars
There are frozen water reservoirs. Researchers who analyzed photographs sent by "Mars
Global Surveyor "said in June that they found similar ground characteristics in the photographs
Remarkably for channels formed by the eruption of underground water.
However, even if no water is discovered on Mars and it turns out that the planet is not
Welcoming life, its investigation can aid in understanding the formation of life on Earth
Earth.
Much of the evidence for the beginning of life was destroyed as a result of the processes
The dynamic geologists passing through the earth. "The clues to history
of Mars is still there," said Pace. "The history of the planet, created in time
Coincides with the Earth, written in the chemical elements and minerals. they are not
The whole story of the development of Mars will be told, but they contribute significantly
For the puzzle known as Mars".
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