Mars orbiter learns new moves after nearly 20 years in space.

After nearly 20 years of operations, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is on a roll, performing a new maneuver to squeeze even more science out of the busy spacecraft as it circles the Red Planet. Engineers have essentially taught the probe to roll over so that it's nearly upside down. Doing so enables MRO to look deeper underground as it searches for liquid and frozen water, among other things.

The new capability is detailed in a paper recently published in The Planetary Science Journal documenting three "very large rolls," as the mission calls them, that were performed between 2023 and 2024.

The orbiter was originally designed to roll up to 30 degrees in any direction so that it can point its instruments at surface targets, including potential landing sites, impact craters, and more.

The process for rolling isn't simple. The spacecraft carries five operating science instruments that have different pointing requirements. To target a precise spot on the surface with one instrument, the orbiter has to roll a particular way, which means the other instruments may have a less-favorable view of Mars during the maneuver.

That's why each regular roll is planned weeks in advance, with instrument teams negotiating who conducts science and when. Then, an algorithm checks MRO's position above Mars and automatically commands the orbiter to roll so the appropriate instrument points at the correct spot on the surface. At the same time, the algorithm commands the spacecraft's solar arrays to rotate and track the sun and its high-gain antenna to track Earth to maintain power and communications.

Source: https://phys.org

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