By Richard Stenger
CNN
(CNN) — Beginning a new chapter in Mars exploration, NASA on Saturday
launched a powerful new orbiter to scour the Red Planet for evidence of
underground water and geologic hot spots.
The $300 million Mars Odyssey should become the first spacecraft to visit
Mars since two disastrous failures in 1999.
Mars Odyssey will search for water, map surface minerals and measure
radiation levels — observations that could provide clues about possible
extraterrestrial life.
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"Life on Earth was not a cosmic fluke but part of a broad
imperative," Ed Weiler, NASA deputy administrator, told reporters Friday.
"Mars is a lot like Earth. And billions of years ago it had some kind of
atmosphere and huge quantities of flowing water."
The spacecraft blasted off into clear morning skies aboard a Delta II rocket
from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It should reach Mars in October after a journey of
286 million miles (460 million km).
Joining another satellite
Odyssey will join another NASA satellite already orbiting the red planet.
Mars Global Surveyor has been circling Mars since 1997, snapping hundreds of
thousands of high-resolution pictures.
Surveyor's camera can spot details as small as 3 meters. The camera onboard
Odyssey cannot focus as well, but it will have the ability to "see"
much more than physical topography.
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