25 years ago today, NASA launched the "2001 Odyssey" probe to Mars. Named after Kubrick's classic sci-fi film, its mission was to use spectrometers and a thermal imager to detect evidence of past or present water and ice, as well as study the planet's geology and radiation environment.
That mission was a success over a period that elapsed 32 months after it arrived in orbit around the Red Planet, and has continued on for 24 years and 5 months, still transmitting valuable data as the oldest craft on or around Mars, and the second oldest serving spacecraft in the solar system. READ more about what it's found... (2021)
