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Slideshow: 01
2001 Mars Odyssey Slides |
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7) Odyssey Trajectory: The distance between Earth and
Mars changes as the planets move in their orbits around the sun.
The opportunity to go to Mars comes around every 26 months,
when the alignment of Earth and Mars allows the spacecraft to
travel between the two planets with the least amount of energy.
During Odyssey's 460 million km (286 million miles) journey to Mars,
navigators will command the spacecraft to "turn and burn"
(to change its orientation slightly and to fire its thrusters) for five
scheduled course corrections, called trajectory correction maneuvers.
These maneuvers will allow Odyssey to achieve its final aim point
and arrive safely at Mars in late October, 2001. |
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