What is the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission?
A. The Odyssey mission is the next mission to Mars. It is an orbiter and it will do observations of the surface looking for elements and minerals. It will also measure the radiation background at Mars, radiation that would be harmful to humans. Q. What do you still have to do to prepare for the April 7 launch? A. The spacecraft is fueled and ready to go. We’ve weighed the spacecraft, moved it to the launch pad and completed a functional test out at the pad to make sure everything is working. The next spacecraft activity will be a practice launch countdown [on Saturday, March 31]. Then the next time the spacecraft comes on, it will be the afternoon of April 6 when we turn on for launch. Q. This must be an exciting yet stressful time for you. What do you do to relieve that stress? A. (Chuckles) When I have a chance on weekends, I’m going down to see the Dodgers at Vero Beach. We also went over to see the Marlins play last weekend and they were playing the Dodgers – so that was fun. Also,
