Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter sends first pictures
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has started sending back High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera images of Mars to excited NASA engineers and scientists.
The MRO went into orbit around the Red Planet on March 10, after leaving Earth in August last year. Its mission is to find evidence that water persisted on Mars for an extended period of time. While it is known that water once flowed across Mars, it is not known if this was for long enough for life to have developed.
The orbiter’s mission is scheduled to end in December 2010, after five and a half years - although it carries enough to propellant to stay in orbit for another five years after that, if required.
