NASA spacecraft completes 60,000 rings around Mars

The MRO probe reaches a new milestone in its journey to collect data on the surface and atmosphere of the red planet.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) flies at about 12,240 km / h, completing one round of Mars every 112 minutes. It ended the 60,000th flight round on May 15, according to NASA.

The MRO spacecraft operates on Mars orbit for 13 years.(Photo: NASA).

"MRO gives scientists and the public a new perspective on Mars. It also supports vehicles that operate on the surface of Mars, allowing them to send new images and discoveries to Earth." , Dan Johnston, project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said.

MRO was launched into space in August 2005 and entered Mars orbit in March 2006. The ship began its scientific mission in November 2006, capturing detailed photos of the red planet's surface and tracking weather patterns. The data it collects can help future flight preparation experts to Mars and identify potential landing points.

This probe is also the main signal relay tool for Curiosity, the NASA explorer operating on the surface of Mars. Curiosity contacted MRO, then MRO sent data to Earth. Later this month, the ship will reach a new milestone, relaying 1 terabyte (TB) of data.

From its superior position, MRO can observe large areas of Mars, providing a more extensive view of the changing seasons, the movement of sand dunes and the meteorite collision process. change the landscape here. With special tools, the ship also studies the atmosphere and tracks giant dust storms on the red planet.

In addition to MRO, some other vehicles are also flying around Mars and sending valuable scientific data every day. Odyssey is the longest active probe among them. It was launched into space in 2001, currently the main data relay tool for InSight amphibious ships and MAVEN probes.