surface permafrost and ancient surface water have given us a new Mars in the past few years," said Michael Meyer, Mars exploration chief scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. "Learning more about what has happened to the water will focus searches for possible Martian life, past or present." The spacecraft is equipped with three high-resolution cameras and a radar sounder that can detect water and ice below Mars' surface. It is to spend four years in orbit around Mars looking for spots to land future rovers and eventual human expeditions. Other instruments will be able to map surface minerals and monitor Mars' atmosphere. The complement of cameras includes one with the largest-diameter telescopic lens ever sent to another planet. Scientists have high hopes the camera will be able to snap pictures showing details as small as the width of an office desk. "Every time we look with increased resolution, Mars has said, 'Here's something you didn't expect. You don't understand me yet.' We're sure to find surprises," said project scientist Richard Zurek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The craft, which is capable of transmitting data back to Earth 10 times faster than previous Mars probes, also is intended to serve as the communications relay station for a rover slated to launch in 2007 and a science laboratory targeted for launch in 2009. Following Friday's successful launch and correct placement for the interplanetary journey to Mars, the spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the red planet in March. It will spend the first six months dipping into the planet's thin atmosphere to slow its speed and position itself into the proper orbit for scientific surveys.
