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Official Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter patch
Space probes·NASA

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

ActiveLaunched in 2005·Mars orbit — 250-316 km

A very high-resolution Mars orbiter (HiRISE). Acts as a radio relay for rovers and landers.

Main objectives
  • Image Mars at very high resolution (HiRISE) for geology and landing sites.
  • Serve as a radio relay for rovers and landers.
  • Track the atmosphere and polar caps (CRISM, MARCI).
Did you know?

HiRISE photographs the Martian surface at 30 cm resolution from 300 km altitude.

Timeline

Aug 12, 2005
Launch

Atlas V.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Photo of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Mission data
StatusActive
PositionMars orbit — 250-316 km
Launched in2005
TargetMars
Budget0.72B USD

Instruments

[05]
HiRISE

High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment photographing the Martian surface at unprecedented resolution

CTX

Context camera providing wide-area views of terrain around high-resolution targets

MARCI

Mars Color Imager daily monitoring global weather, dust storms and atmospheric changes

CRISM

Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars mapping mineral signatures and past water evidence

SHARAD

Shallow Radar probing beneath the surface to detect water ice and geological layering

Discoveries

[02]

Mission milestones

[01]

Official sources

NASA MRO↗

Explore further

Target hubMarsSpacecraft type hubSpace probesAgency hubNASA