1. About
  2. Earth
    1. ISS
    2. Aqua
    3. GOES-14
    4. JWST
  3. Moon
    1. LADEE
    2. NRHO
  4. Mercury
    1. MESSENGER
  5. Venus
    1. Venus Express
  6. Mars
    1. MRO
    2. MAVEN
  7. Interplanetary
    1. MAVEN transfer

MRO

Sun-synchronous Martian orbit

Files

Click here to download the trajectory.
Click here to download the run options file.

Description

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a NASA mission to study the surface and climate of Mars, with an emphasis on looking for signs of water.  It has been orbiting Mars since 2006.  MRO uses a low-altitude (approximately 250-300 km), near-polar Sun-synchronous orbit.

Because MRO remains quite close to the Martian surface, its nadir surface will be well-shielded by Mars.  Because the orbit maintains a similar orientation relative to the Sun-Mars line, the apparent directionality of the environment will be asymmetric, much like that of Aqua.  Note that MEM does not include the hypothesized (but not yet observed) dust tori produced by the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos.

Graphics

Trajectory in inertial frame

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Trajectory in Sun-centered ecliptic frame

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Meteoroid flux and properties

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Meteoroid directionality in body-fixed frame

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