HOUSTON,TEXAS Scientists gathered here to review increasing amounts of data streamingout of NASAs Mars Odyssey as it orbits the red planet are overjoyed now that abalky radiation experiment on the probe is back in operation. That hardware isbuilt to yield environmental data for plotting future human expeditions to theplanet.
Justa few weeks into probing enigmatic Mars, Odyssey has also begun sensor sweepsof prospective touchdown spots for two Mars Exploration Rovers to be launchednext year.
Hereat the 33rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, top spacescience experts from around the world are providing a collective researchreport card, primarily on solar system studies. But receiving an immediateA-plus, said one scientist, is NASAs Mars Odyssey mission that began inearnest on February 19.
Rad-hardheart beat
Engineershave been successful in troubleshooting a glitch in Odysseys Martian RadiationEnvironment Experiment (MARIE). Communication between the device and thespacecraft ceased some months ago, although good data was collected during partof the crafts traverse to Mars.
Latelast week, during a series of electronic inquires from Earth to the troubledMARIE, it responded with a normal heart beat, said Stephen Saunders, Odysseyproject scientist from JPL. Over the weekend we rebuilt some commands, andthen sent them up Sunday night. Its functioning, he told SPACE.com.
Scientistscould be operating MARIE as soon as today, Saunders said. The device willmeasure radiation strengths around Mars and help determine what dose levels 21stcentury explorers might encounter on arrival at the planet, he said.
Techno-twosome
GettingMARIE on-line adds to the output of new finds by Mars Odyssey.
Hundredsof images from Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) have beenrelayed to Earth. Its virtually impossible to keep up and look at all ofthem. The thermal data is just enough of a different way of viewing thingsitgives you so much insight into what youre looking at, Saunders said.
Saunderssaid that Mars Odyssey is going to provide early views of all the obvioussuspects, areas of scientific as well as public interest. Gullies, ancientchannels, sand dunes, Valles Marineris, the summit of Olympus Mons, as well asthe Face on Mars all are on a target list.
Atop priority is surveying possible landing spots for the Mars ExplorationRovers. The twin robots are being readied for individual liftoffs in 2003.
Atpresent, six landing sites that show evidence for processes involving water onMars have been selected. That short list has been culled from a possible 185candidate sites. Each potential rover landing location is being evaluated forscience potential and safety. The intent is to pick the two rover touchdown pointsin May of this year.
Boomtime
Odysseysoperators, however, are not out of the woods yet.
Astill-to-come event onboard the spacecraft is release of a 20-foot (6-meter)boom. At booms end is the sensitive Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS).
Thatsa major deal, Saunders said. Its one of those all or nothing kinds ofthings, he said.
Apartly unfurled boom would make Odyssey harder to control and aim thingsproperly. Confidence in the boom is high, thanks to a long history ofsuccessful deployments of similar hardware.
Oncefully extended away from Odyssey, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer will continue itsquest to chart resources of water ice hidden subsurface on Mars. Prior to itbeing stretched out, the GRS already detected lots of hydrogen in southernpolar regions of Mars.
Itis very clear in our mind that we have ice here. A lot of hydrogen, saidWilliam Boynton, principal investigator for the GRS at the University ofArizona, Tucson.
Thereare a few places closer to the [Mars] equator where were seeing hints theremight be more ice buried just a little bit below the surface, Boynton told SPACE.com.Whether well see it [water ice] all over the planet remains to be seenand,of course, we dont know how deep it goes either, he added.
Hydrogenheaven
Itsobvious that Boynton is in hydrogen heaven thanks to the early results ofOdysseys GRS instrumentation. His gladness has long been in the making.
Boyntonsaid he is relieved to have his data cascading in from Mars.
Itsbeen 18 years since I started this, he added, underscoring the loss of bothMars Observer and Mars Polar Lander. Each probe toted the scientists gear, butfailed to reach the target.
Iwas beginning to wonder if its all worthwhile. But now I can say, yes, it isdefinitely worthwhilea joy to see the data coming in, Boynton said.
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