Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Overview

Destination: Mars Orbit
Mission: Planetary Science

Mars Orbit Space Launch Complex 41 Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005 and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. In November 2006, after five months of aerobraking, it entered its final science orbit and began its primary science phase.

Atlas V 401

Family:
Configuration: 401

An Atlas V with a 4 meter diameter fairing, no boosters and a single centaur upper stage engine.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    58.3 m
  • Diameter
    3.8 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    4.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    590 T
  • Thrust
    3827 kN
Family
  • Name
    Atlas V 401
  • Family
  • Variant
    401
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Atlas V 401
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $115000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    9050 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    4950 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    6670 kg

United Launch Alliance

United Launch Alliance

(ULA)

CEO: Tory Bruno Founded: 2006 Successes: 162 Failures: 0 Pending: 45

Agency Type:

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. ULA launches from both coasts of the US. They launch their Atlas V vehicle from LC-41 in Cape Canaveral and LC-3E at Vandeberg. Their Delta IV launches from LC-37 at Cape Canaveral and LC-6 at Vandenberg.

INFO WIKI

Related News

NASA

NASA Explores a Winter Wonderland on Mars

Cube-shaped snow, icy landscapes, and frost are all part of the Red Planet’s coldest season.

NASA

NASA to Host Briefing on InSight, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Findings

NASA will host a virtual media briefing at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 27, to share new scientific findings based on observations from the agency’s InSight Mars lander and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

NASA

NASA To Host Briefing on InSight, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Findings

Scientists from two Mars missions will discuss how they combined images and data for a major finding on the Red Planet.

NASA

NASA Mars Orbiter Releasing One of Its Last Rainbow-Colored Maps

The map, to be released in batches over six months, covers the vast majority of the planet, revealing dozens of minerals found on its surface.

NASA

NASA's MRO Finds Water Flowed on Mars Longer Than Previously Thought

Caltech researchers used the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to determine that surface water left salt minerals behind as recently as 2 billion years ago.

Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Space Launch Complex 41


Falcon 9
Success
8 hours, 30 minutes ago
Starlink Group 10-9
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 4B
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Gaofen-11-05
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Gaofen is a series of civilian Earth observation satellites developed and launched for the China High-definition Earth Observation System (CHEOS), a …


Falcon 9
Failure
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 9-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Hyperbola-1
Failure
2 weeks, 2 days ago
Yunyao-1 15-17
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 weather satellites performing atmospheric measurements using GNSS Radio Occultation for a Tianjin based company. Constellation is planned to have a…


Ariane 62
Success
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Maiden Flight
Ariane Launch Area 4 - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Maiden Flight of the Ariane 62 launch vehicle, carrying ten cubesats, two deployers, five experiments, and two reentry capsules.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks, 4 days ago
Türksat 6A
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Türksat 6A is Turkey's first domestically manufactured geostationary communications satellite. It is to reside in 42° East orbital slot, providing se…


Long March 6A
Success
3 weeks, 1 day ago
Tianhui 5 Group 02
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

A pair of satellites officially described as for cartographic surveying purposes, details TBD.


Firefly Alpha
Success
3 weeks, 2 days ago
FLTA005 (Noise of Summer)
Space Launch Complex 2W - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Fifth flight of the Firefly Alpha small sat launcher, carrying eight cubesats for NASA's ELaNa 43 (Educational Launch of a Nanosatellite) mission.


Falcon 9
Success
3 weeks, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 8-9
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


H3-22
Success
3 weeks, 5 days ago
Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 (ALOS-4)
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

The Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 (ALOS-4) is a Japanese satellite designed to observe the Earth's surface using a phased array type L-band syn…