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NASA has Mars missions planned through decade BY WILLIAM HARWOOD SPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: May 29, 2003
NASA plans to follow the 2003 rover missions with launch of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in August 2005, a 1,900-kilogram (4,200-pound) spacecraft loaded with nine state-of-the-art instruments and cameras that are "truly an order of magnitude beyond that which we've done with Odyssey and MGS," said James Garvin, NASA's chief Mars scientist. In 2007, NASA will launch a so-called Scout mission. Four such missions currently are under consideration: A lander built with spare parts left over from the scrapped 2001 mission; a rocket-powered airplane; an orbiter to look for trace gases in the atmosphere that are indicative of biological processes; and a mission to bring a sample of the martian atmosphere back to Earth for detailed analysis.
"We believe there is missing carbon and once we understand it, what it's like, where it came from, we'll understand more about the possibilities of life, or at least of there having been life on Mars at at least one extremely high priority site." Following the 2009 launch, NASA will either press ahead with a sample return mission or additional missions to further refine potential landing sites. Ultimately, Garvin hopes, humans will follow. "We think we have a hell of a program," Garvin said. "It's going to be exciting. I think we're going to find some remarkable stuff."
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Flight Data File Vehicle: Delta 2 (7925-Heavy) Payload: NASA's Mars Exploration Rover-B Launch date: July 7, 2003 Launch times: 10:35:23 p.m. EDT and 11:18:15 p.m. EDT Launch site: SLC-17B, Cape Canaveral, Florida Satellite broadcast: AMC 2, Transponder 9, C-band  Pre-launch briefing Mission preview - Our story examining the Mars Exploration Rover project. Launch windows - A chart listing the daily launch times for MER-B. Launch timeline No. 1 - Chart with times and descriptions of events to occur during the launch if the first daily opportunity is used. Launch timeline No. 2 - Chart with times and descriptions of events to occur during the launch if the second daily opportunity is used. Ground track - See the trajectory the rocket will follow during its flight. Getting to Mars - Our story previewing the rovers' descent and landing to the Martian surface. MER spacecraft - A technical look at the parts and pieces of the Mars Exploration Rover spacecraft. Mission science - A look at the science instruments and objectives for the Mars rovers. Future exploration - Our story looking at NASA's plans for Mars missions through the decade. Delta 2 rocket - Overview of the Delta 2 Heavy-model rocket used in this launch. SLC-17 - The launch complex where Delta rockets fly from Cape Canaveral. Delta directory - See our coverage of previous Delta rocket flights. Exploring Mars  Astronomy Now is pleased to announce the publication of Exploring Mars. The very best images of Mars taken by orbiting spacecraft and NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers fill up the 98 glossy pages of this special edition! Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Mars Rover mission patch  A mission patch featuring NASA's Mars Exploration Rover is now available from the Astronomy Now Store.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Apollo patches  The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price. Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Women Astronauts  Learn about women astronauts,what they do, and how they got to where they are today. Read their story and how attitudes towards women in space changed.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STORE
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