{"id":242431,"date":"2025-06-27T02:12:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T16:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=881549"},"modified":"2025-06-27T02:12:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T16:12:28","slug":"nasa-mars-orbiter-learns-new-moves-after-nearly-20-years-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=242431","title":{"rendered":"NASA Mars Orbiter Learns New Moves After Nearly 20 Years in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"
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6 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Artist's<\/a><\/figure>
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An antenna sticks out like whiskers from NASA\u2019s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in this artist\u2019s concept of the spacecraft, which has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2006. This antenna is part of SHARAD, a radar that peers below the Martian surface.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is testing a series of large <\/em>spacecraft <\/em>rolls that will help it hunt for water.<\/em><\/p>\n

After nearly 20 years of operations, NASA\u2019s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is on a roll, performing a new maneuver to squeeze even more science out of the busy spacecraft as it circles the Red Planet. Engineers have essentially taught the probe to roll over so that it\u2019s nearly upside down. Doing so enables MRO to look deeper underground as it searches for liquid and frozen water, among other things.<\/p>\n

The new capability is detailed in a paper<\/a> recently published in the Planetary Science Journal documenting three \u201cvery large rolls,\u201d as the mission calls them, that were performed between 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only can you teach an old spacecraft new tricks, you can open up entirely new regions of the subsurface to explore by doing so,\u201d said one of the paper\u2019s authors, Gareth Morgan of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona.<\/p>\n

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This animation depicts NASA\u2019s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter performing a 120-degree roll that increases the strength of its radar signal by 10 times or more.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The orbiter was originally designed to roll up to 30 degrees in any direction so that it can point its instruments at surface targets, including potential landing sites<\/a>, impact craters<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re unique in that the entire spacecraft and its software are designed to let us roll all the time,\u201d said Reid Thomas, MRO\u2019s project manager at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.<\/p>\n

The process for rolling isn\u2019t simple. The spacecraft carries five <\/a>operating <\/a>science instruments<\/a> that have different pointing requirements. To target a precise spot on the surface with one instrument, the orbiter has to roll a particular way, which means the other instruments may have a less-favorable view of Mars during the maneuver.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why each regular roll is planned weeks in advance, with instrument teams negotiating who conducts science and when. Then, an algorithm checks MRO\u2019s position above Mars and automatically commands the orbiter to roll so the appropriate instrument points at the correct spot on the surface. At the same time, the algorithm commands the spacecraft\u2019s solar arrays to rotate and track the Sun and its high-gain antenna to track Earth to maintain power and communications.<\/p>\n

Very large rolls, which are 120 degrees, require even more planning to maintain the safety of the spacecraft. The payoff is that the new maneuver enables one particular instrument, called the Shallow Radar (SHARAD<\/a>), to have a deeper view of Mars than ever before.<\/p>\n

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