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  • Artistic rendering of MRO in orbit around Mars right before insertion in 2006.
    Artistic rendering of MRO in orbit around Mars right before insertion in 2006.
    Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mars

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

A Cornerstone of Modern Mars Exploration
CTOS
Mission Website
Launch Date
August 12th, 2005
Arrival Date
March, 2006
End Date
Test
Mission Status
Active
Launch Vehicle
Atlas V-401 (AV-401)
Image of MRO at the Kennedy Space Center prior to integration with the Atlas V launch vehicle.
Image of MRO at the Kennedy Space Center prior to integration with the Atlas V launch vehicle.
Credit: Zurek and Smrekar, 200

Since arriving at Mars in 2006, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has transformed our understanding of the Martian surface, atmosphere, and subsurface, while also serving as a critical communications relay for landed missions across the surface of the planet. Originally planned as a two-year mission, MRO completed its primary science phase in 2008, and has continued operations through multiple extended phases. It began its seventh extended mission in October 2025. The spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin and is operated in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Mission Milestones
& Discoveries

  • 75%+ of Mars mapped by CTX
  • Supported Phoenix, Curiosity, InSight, and Perseverance through landing site characterization and mission operations
  • Nearly 20 years of continuous daily weather observations from MARCI
  • Thousands of new impact craters and active surface changes documented with CTX repeat imaging

MSSS Instruments & Subsystems

Context Camera (CTX)

Image of the Context Camera before being mounted onto the MRO spacecraft.
Image of the Context Camera before being mounted onto the MRO spacecraft.
Credit: MSSS
Camera ID:
CTX
Camera Wavelengths:
Visible
  • The Context Camera (CTX) is a a high-resolution, panchromatic pushbroom camera that acquires wide-swath images of the Martian surface for regional geologic mapping and contextual imaging.
  • CTX is used to monitor changes occurring on the planet, and acquires stereopairs of select, critical science targets.
Customer:
NASA/JPL

Mars Color Imager (MARCI)

Image of MARCI onboard the MRO spacecraft. Reflection on spacecraft body shows MSSS's Mike Ravine, the MARCI/CTX Instrument Manager, taking the picture.
Image of MARCI onboard the MRO spacecraft. Reflection on spacecraft body shows MSSS's Mike Ravine, the MARCI/CTX Instrument Manager, taking the picture.
Credit: MSSS
Camera ID:
MARCI
Camera Wavelengths:
Ultraviolet & Visible
  • A wide-angle, multispectral pushbroom camera that acquires daily global images of Mars for atmospheric monitoring and studies of weather, climate, and seasonal surface processes.
Customer:
NASA/JPL

MARCI Interface Adaptor (MIA)

Image of MARCI onboard the MRO spacecraft. Reflection on spacecraft body shows MSSS's Mike Ravine, the MARCI/CTX Instrument Manager, taking the picture.
Image of MARCI onboard the MRO spacecraft. Reflection on spacecraft body shows MSSS's Mike Ravine, the MARCI/CTX Instrument Manager, taking the picture.
Credit: MSSS
  • An electronics interface between the Mars Color Imager (MARCI) and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, providing power distribution, command and telemetry handling, and data transfer between the instrument and the spacecraft avionics.
Customer:
NASA/JPL