Article Posted on : - Dec 16, 2010

Artist concept of NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. A NASA/JPL photo

DENVER (BNS): On Wednesday, NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter passed the Martian career longevity record set by its predecessor, Mars Global Surveyor.

Odyssey entered orbit around Mars on October 24, 2001 and on Wednesday it completed the 3,340th day since that arrival. Five days from now on December 20, the spacecraft will surpass 40,000 total orbits of the red planet.

Odyssey completed its primary mission in August 2004. Since then, the bonus years of extended missions have enabled many accomplishments that would not have been possible otherwise.

Odyssey made its most famous discovery during its first few months of science operations; detection of copious hydrogen just below the surface throughout the planet's high-latitude regions.

Deduction that the hydrogen is in frozen water prompted NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission, which confirmed that fact in 2008.

NASA has planned future work for Odyssey, in addition to having the orbiter continue its own science and its relay service for the Mars Exploration Rover mission.

If required, controllers will adjust Odyssey's orbit so the spacecraft is in a favorable position for a communication relay role during the August 2012 landing of NASA's next Mars rover, Curiosity.

US defence and aerospace company Lockheed Martin has built both the Odyssey spacecraft and the Mars Global Surveyor for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).