2001 Mars Odyssey first few minutes on the Martian surface. "Odyssey" also acts as a relay for UHF radio signals from the (MSL) rover "Curiosity". Because "Odyssey" is in a Sun-synchronous orbit, it consistently passes over "Curiosity"s location at the same two times every day, allowing for convenient scheduling of contact with Earth. 2001 Mars Odyssey 2001 Mars Odyssey is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million. Its mission is to use spectrometers and a thermal imager to detect evidence
International Year of Planet Earth International Year of Planet Earth The United Nations General Assembly declared 2008 as the International Year of Planet Earth to increase awareness of the importance of Earth sciences for the advancement of sustainable development. UNESCO was designated as the lead agency. The Year's activities spanned the three years 2006-2009. The Year aimed to raise $20 million from industry and governments, of which half was to be spent on co-funding research, and half on "outreach" activities. It was intended to be the biggest ever international effort to promote the Earth sciences. Apart from researchers, who were expected to benefit under the