Comet Siding Spring Zooms Past Mars: NASA Announces Orbiters are Safe

As Comet Siding Spring sped near Mars on Sunday, Oct. 19, NASA's Mars Odyssey fled. Now, the longest-lived robot ever sent to Mars has reported back to Earth on schedule after sheltering behind the Red Planet to avoid possible comet dust.

The comet itself came within about 88,000 miles of Mars, which is equivalent to about one-third of the distance between Earth and its moon. In order to prevent possible issues, Odyssey performed a maneuver on Aug. 5 to adjust the timing of its orbit so that it would be shielded by Mars when the comet came calling.

"The telemetry received from Odyssey this afternoon confirms not only that the spacecraft is in fine health but also that it conducted the planned observations of comet Siding Spring within hours of the comet's closest approach to Mars," said Chris Potts, Odyssey mission manager, in a news release.

In fact, scientists are making the most of this particular flyby. Three NASA Mars orbiters, two Mars rovers and other assets on Earth and in space are studying the comet. Because it's making its first visit this close to the sun from the outer solar system's Oort cloud, it represents a prime opportunity to learn a bit more about the Oort cloud itself.

So far, the researchers have confirmed that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) orbiter are both still functioning after the comet's pass. Now, the scientists are looking forward to receiving data that will tell them a bit more about this comet and, in turn, a bit more about the Oort cloud; this, in turn, could tell them about the early evolution of our solar system.

The learn more about the comet Siding Spring, visit NASA's website.