another great mission !


Six science instruments are included on the MRO mission. The MRO's communications capabilities will provide a critical transmission relay for the surface missions. The craft is equipped with a visible stereo imaging camera (HiRISE) with resolution much better than one meter and a visible/near-infrared spectrometer (CRISM) to study the surface composition. MRO may provide evidence which could help to uncover the reasons behind the failure of past Mars missions such as NASA's Mars Polar Lander, and the British Beagle lander launched from ESA's Mars Express. After MTO got cancelled it was decided that the MRO orbiter will be used as a telecommunications link for future missions. MRO gets its electrical power from two solar panels. Each panel can move independently around two axes of movement. The goals of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are to search for evidence of water, and characterise the atmosphere and geology of Mars.