Skip to content
Home › Library › Deep Space › MRO
LIVE

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA's high-resolution Mars orbiter, at Mars since March 2006. Its HiRISE camera shows the surface in remarkable detail, and it relays data from rovers on the ground.

NASA·Mars Orbit·Launched 12 August 2005·Active
—days —h —m —s in space
Distance from Earth
203.88 M km
1.362858 AU
Distance from Sun
239.84 M km
1.603214 AU
Speed
82,712 km/h
22.976 km/s
Signal Delay
11.3 min
one way

Mars in High Definition

MRO carries HiRISE, the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet, able to pick out objects about the size of a kitchen table. Since arriving on 10 March 2006 it has studied the surface, minerals, ice and weather of Mars, and its images helped choose landing sites for Phoenix, Curiosity, InSight and Perseverance. HiRISE took its 100,000th image on 7 October 2025.

The Mars Internet

MRO is also one of the main radio relays for missions on the ground, passing data from rovers and landers to Earth. It even photographed Phoenix in 2008 and Curiosity in 2012 as they descended under their parachutes.

Mission Timeline

12 August 2005
Launch on an Atlas V
10 March 2006
Enters orbit around Mars
November 2006
Science operations begin after six months of aerobraking
25 May 2008
Photographs the Phoenix lander descending under its parachute
August 2012
Photographs Curiosity descending under its parachute
7 October 2025
HiRISE takes its 100,000th image
10 March 2026
Twenty years in orbit around Mars

Key Data

MissionMars Reconnaissance Orbiter
AgencyNASA
StatusActive
TargetMars Orbit
Launch date12 August 2005

Questions people ask

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in orbit around Mars, which puts it 203.9 million km from Earth. Radio signals take 11 min 20 s to travel between them.
Yes. MRO has orbited Mars since March 2006, mapping the surface, watching the weather and relaying data from rovers such as Curiosity and Perseverance.
Its HiRISE camera can pick out objects about the size of a kitchen table on the Martian surface. It took its 100,000th image on 7 October 2025.

Explore More