- 04.07.01: Launch (15:02 UT)
- 10.24.01: Mars Orbit Insertion (02:30 UT)
- Status: Orbiting Mars
The 2001 Mars Odyssey launched on 7 April 2001 at 15:02:22 UT (11:02:22 a.m. EDT). During the cruise to Mars, in August, the MARIE instrument failed to respond during a routine data transfer and was put into hibernation. Attempts to revive the instrument were successful in March 2002 and MARIE began taking scientific data from orbit on 13 March. The star tracker camera is having difficulties with too much stray light, it is thought that this will not affect its operation severely. After a seven month cruise the spacecraft reached Mars on 24 October 2001 at 02:26 UT (23 October 10:26 p.m. EDT). The spacecraft used a 19.7 minute main-engine propulsive maneuver to transfer into an 18.6 hour elliptical capture orbit and used aerobraking until 11 January 2002, when the spacecraft pulled out of the aerobraking orbit into a 201 x 500 km orbit. This orbit was trimmed over the next few weeks until it became a 2-hour, approximately 400 x 400 km polar science orbit on January 30, 2002. The Orbiter will act as a communications relay for the Mars Exploration Rovers, which arrived in January 2004, and possibly other future missions. Data was collected from orbit until the end of the 917 day nominal mission in July 2004. The mission has been extended.
