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Challenges of Getting to Mars: Telecommunications

September 17, 2004

How do you converse with a robot nearly one hundred million miles away? In this video, Odyssey team members describe communications with the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft using the antennas of the Deep Space Network.

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A sea of dark dunes, sculpted by the wind into long lines, surrounds the northern polar cap covering an area as big as Texas.
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A sea of dark dunes, sculpted by the wind into long lines, surrounds the northern polar cap covering an area as big as Texas.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Polar Dunes
Seen shortly after local Martian sunrise, clouds gather in the summit pit, or caldera, of Pavonis Mons, a giant volcano on Mars, in this image from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on N...
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Seen shortly after local Martian sunrise, clouds gather in the summit pit, or caldera, of Arsia Mons, a giant volcano on Mars, in this image from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Morning Clouds Atop Martian Mountain
This movie shows three views of the Martian moon Phobos as viewed in visible light by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. The apparent motion is due to movement by Odyssey's infrared camera, Thermal ...
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This movie shows three views of the Martian moon Phobos as viewed in visible light by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Odyssey's Three Views of Phobos in Visible Light
Odyssey launched on Boeing's Delta II 7925 that uses nine strap-on solid rocket motors.
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Odyssey launched on Boeing's Delta II 7925 that uses nine strap-on solid rocket motors.
Odyssey Launches Boeing's Delta II 7925
A small basin (center foreground) lies below the southern rim of Melas Chasma, part of Valles Marineris.
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A small basin (center foreground) lies below the southern rim of Melas Chasma, part of Valles Marineris.
Melas Chasma's Ancient Lake
Color coding in this map of a far-northern site on Mars indicates the change in nighttime ground-surface temperature between summer and fall. This site, like most of high-latitude Mars, has water i...
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Depth-to-Ice Map of an Arctic Site on Mars
Depth-to-Ice Map of an Arctic Site on Mars
Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars, are seen in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. The distance to Deimos from Odyssey during the observation was about 12,222 miles (19,670 kilomet...
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Mars Odyssey Observes Martian Moons
Mars Odyssey Observes Martian Moons
This region of Terra Sabaea contains areas with high densities of small craters.
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This region of Terra Sabaea contains areas with high densities of small craters.
Lot of Craters in Terra Sabaea
This image superimposes Gamma-Ray Spectrometer data from NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter onto topographic data from the laser altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor.
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This image superimposes Gamma-Ray Spectrometer data from NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter onto topographic data from the laser altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor.
Potassium Concentrations on Mars
This image shows the context for orbital observations of exposed rocks that had been buried an estimated 5 kilometers (3 miles) deep on Mars.
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This image shows the context for orbital observations of exposed rocks that had been buried an estimated 5 kilometers (3 miles) deep on Mars.
Nature's Drilling Exposes Deeply Buried Minerals
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, its backshell and its heatshield are visible within this enhanced-color image of the Phoenix landing site taken on Jan. 6, 2010 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Ex...
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Phoenix Lander Amid Disappearing Spring Ice
Phoenix Lander Amid Disappearing Spring Ice
Newly detailed mapping of local variations in Mars' gravitational pull on orbiters (center), combined with topographical mapping of the planet's mountains and valleys (left), yields the best-yet ma...
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Newly detailed mapping of local variations in Mars' gravitational pull on orbiters (center), combined with topographical mapping of the planet's mountains and valleys (left), yields the best-yet mapping of Mars' crustal thickness (right).
Using Gravity and Topography to Map Mars' Crustal Thickness
Planum Boreum crater
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Planum Boreum crater
Planum Boreum crater
This mosaic of day and night infrared THEMIS images shows landslides flowed over 100 kilometers (62 miles) across the floor of Melas Chasma.
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This mosaic of day and night infrared THEMIS images shows landslides flowed over 100 kilometers (62 miles) across the floor of Melas Chasma.
mosaic of day and night infrared THEMIS
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the caldera floor of Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the Tharsis volcanoes. It is 270 miles in diameter, almost 12 mi...
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Investigating Mars: Arsia Mons
Investigating Mars: Arsia Mons
The dunes and dust devil tracks in this VIS image are located on the plains of Planum Chronium.
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The dunes and dust devil tracks in this VIS image are located on the plains of Planum Chronium.
Dunes and dust devil tracks in Planum Chronium
These are two views of the same observation of the Martian moon Phobos taken in both infrared and visible light by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter using its THEMIS camera. The image was taken on A...
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Two views of the Martian moon Phobos taken in both infrared and visible light by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey.
Phobos: Comparing Infrared and Visible Light Views
Download a PDF of the 2001 Mars Odyssey Arrival Press Kit.
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Odyssey arrival press kit
2001 Mars Odyssey Arrival Press Kit
A false-color mosaic focuses on one junction in Noctis Labyrinthus where Mars canyons meet to form a depression 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) deep.
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A false-color mosaic focuses on one junction in Noctis Labyrinthus where Mars canyons meet to form a depression 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) deep.
Canyon Junction
This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey shows ice-rich clouds over the summit of Arsia Mons.
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This is an image of ice-rich clouds in false color, taken by the Odyssey satellite orbiting Mars.
Ice-Rich Clouds - False Color
This graphic shows the ongoing contributions of NASA’s rovers and orbiters during a Martian dust storm that began on May 30, 2018.
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This graphic shows the ongoing contributions of NASA’s rovers and orbiters during a Martian dust storm that began on May 30, 2018.
Mars Storm Watch Observations
A large dust storm on Mars, nearly twice the size of the United States, covered the southern hemisphere of the Red Planet in early January 2022, leading to some of NASA’s explorers on the surface h...
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A large dust storm on Mars, nearly twice the size of the United States, covered the southern hemisphere of the Red Planet in early January 2022, leading to some of NASA’s explorers on the surface hitting pause on their normal activities.
Mars Report: Dust Storms on Mars
This view of an area about 140 kilometers (about 90 miles) wide in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars shows the region around NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.
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Orbital View of Opportunity's Region
Orbital View of Opportunity's Region
Fans and ribbons of dark sand dunes creep across the floor of Bunge Crater in response to winds blowing from the direction at the top of the picture.
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Fans and ribbons of dark sand dunes creep across the floor of Bunge Crater in response to winds blowing from the direction at the top of the picture.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Bunge Crater Dunes
This movie begins with an animation (artist's rendering) of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft above Mars. The scene zooms into an "X-ray" view of the spacecraft, revealing the High Reso...
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Mars Orbiter Observes Comet Siding Spring
Mars Orbiter Observes Comet Siding Spring

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