Summary
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a NASA multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and Exploration of Mars from orbit. As MRO entered orbit it joined five other active spacecraft in orbit of or on the planet: Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Express, Mars Odyssey, and two Mars Exploration Rovers; a then record for most spacecraft operational in Mars vicinity. The US$720 million spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin under the supervision of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It was launched August 12, 2005, and attained Martian orbit on March 10, 2006. In November 2006, after five months of aerobraking, it entered its final science orbit and began its primary science phase.
Cospar ID
2005-029a
Launch Date
2005-08-12 11:43:00 UTC
Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Carrier Rocket
Atlas V-401
Orbital Insertion Date
2006-03-10 21:24:00 UTC
Present Location
Mars