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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Trivia Questions

How much do you really know about Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter? Below are 8 true or false statements. Click each one to reveal the answer and explanation.

1.

MRO’s primary mission was to search for life, but it found none.

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Easy
✗ FALSE

MRO’s goal was to study climate, geology, and water history—not directly search for life. That’s more for rovers or future missions.

2.

MRO discovered seasonal flowing water on Mars in the form of recurring slope lineae.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

In 2011, MRO’s images revealed dark streaks that grow and fade with seasons, later confirmed to involve liquid brine.

3.

MRO carries a ground-penetrating radar that can detect ice buried over a mile deep.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

Its SHARAD radar instrument probes up to 1.5 km deep, mapping underground ice and rock layers.

4.

MRO acts as a communications relay for all active Mars rovers and landers.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

It relays data for many missions, but not all—for example, the InSight lander uses Mars Cube One and other orbiters too.

5.

MRO captured the first-ever image of another spacecraft landing on Mars—the Curiosity rover.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

It did capture Curiosity descending by parachute (2012), but that was not the first—Mars Global Surveyor imaged the Spirit rover’s lander in 2004.

6.

The orbiter has a laser altimeter that created the most detailed 3D map of Mars’ surface.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

That’s MOLA on Mars Global Surveyor. MRO uses HiRISE and CTX for imaging, but its MCS instrument studies atmosphere instead.

7.

MRO’s orbit is so stable it will keep working for over a decade without fuel adjustments.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

It uses a nearly circular, sun-synchronous orbit, but it still occasionally adjusts with hydrazine thrusters—its fuel is expected to last until 2030s.

8.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter can spot a dinner plate on the Martian surface from orbit.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Its HiRISE camera has a resolution of about 30 cm per pixel, enough to see objects the size of a dinner plate.

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