MRO’s initial mission is a two-year assignment to scan for evidence of past or present water while conducting a comprehensive survey of the planet’s surface and atmosphere. But the job doesn’t end there.

After completing its primary mission, MRO is expected to use its large antenna (seen in this preflight image) to serve as an interplanetary phone operator, relaying data and instructions between flight controllers on Earth and future landers and rovers on Mars. The entire mission carries a $720 million cost.