Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Spacecraft

NASA is investigating problems with two instruments aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the agency announced this week. In November, scientists operating the probe's high-resolution camera noticed an increase in image "noise," such as bad pixels. A problem also developed in an instrument that maps temperature, ice clouds and dust in the atmosphere. Scientists discovered the instrument had a skewed field of view.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is on course and in apparently good condition as it nears the Red Planet on a search for water and future landing sites, officials said. The spacecraft, scheduled to enter orbit around Mars on March 10, is expected to examine the planet in unprecedented detail. In addition to cameras that should be able to see the two Martian rovers on the planet, its radar can spot underground features 50 feet across, such as a water basin.

The most powerful spacecraft ever sent to Mars has settled into a nearly circular orbit, a move that allows scientists to begin studying the planet in unprecedented detail, NASA said. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, fired its thrusters for 12 minutes Monday to adjust to its final position, six months after it arrived at the planet. Its altitude ranges between 155 and 196 miles above the surface.

A school-bus sized spacecraft carrying the largest telescope ever installed in a planetary probe blasted off early Friday morning from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, beginning a seven-month journey to the Red Planet.