FilterHN

This orbiter (Odyssey) is going imminently to be turned off[0]. It's orbiting Mars right now, but JPL is about to lose funding to keep communicating with it.

(I think a sizeable part of HN would call this an off-topic tangent, and prefer not to see it posted on HN. Philip K. Dick defined reality as "that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away". You can inhabit whatever reality you prefer to inhabit, but sooner or later these (nasa.gov) stories you do prefer to read on HN, are all going to vanish from HN, beliefs and preferences notwithstanding).

[0] https://www.science.org/content/article/dozens-active-and-pl... ("...kill off several spacecraft orbiting Mars, including Mars Odyssey and Maven...")

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marcusverus

9 days ago

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Per the wiki:

> As of March 2025, [Odyssey] is still collecting data, and is estimated to have enough propellant to function until the end of 2025.

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pandemic_region

9 days ago

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Once turned off, can it be turned on again later when new funding is found?

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close04

9 days ago

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Maybe but not a guarantee. Losing funding usually means the people familiar with the mission are going away, it's possible that some of the needed ground equipment also gets decommissioned. Bringing it all back once it's gone is probably never a rosy business case.