NASA’s 2 other Mars orbiters have actually been in area for more than 20 years. The older of the 2, called Mars Odyssey, has actually been at Mars because 2001 and will quickly lack fuel, most likely at some point in the next number of years. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which introduced in 2005, is healthy for its age, with adequate fuel to last into the 2030s. MRO is likewise crucial to NASA due to the fact that it has the very best video camera at Mars, with the capability to map landing websites for future objectives.

2 European spacecraft, Mars Express and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, have radios to communicate information in between objective controllers and NASA’s landers on the Martian surface area. Mars Express, now 22 years of ages, experiences the very same aging issues as Mars Odyssey and MRO. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is more recent, having actually reached Mars in 2016, however is likewise running beyond its initial life time.

China and the United Arab Emirates likewise have orbiters circling around Mars, however neither spacecraft is geared up to act as an interactions relay.

NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have the ability for direct-to-Earth interactions, however the orbiting relay network can support greatly greater information throughput. Without overhead satellites, much of the science information and much of the amazing images gathered by NASA’s rovers may never ever make it off the world.

MAVEN’s distinct orbit, extending as far as 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) above Mars, has some benefits for information relay. Because orbit, MAVEN might communicate science information from rovers on the surface area for approximately 30 minutes at a time, longer than the relay durations readily available through NASA’s lower-altitude orbiters. Since of this, MAVEN might support the biggest information volumes of any of the other relay choices.