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Atlas V 401 | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Launch Successful

Launch Details

Date: 12 Aug 2005, 11:43 am UTC

Rocket: Atlas V 401 (Atlas)

Provider: Lockheed Martin

Mission

Type: Planetary Science

Orbit: Mars Orbit

Pad: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Mission Description

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005 and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. In November 2006, after five months of aerobraking, it entered its final science orbit and began its primary science phase.