These algorithms could also work in analysing remote-sensing date from orbiter spacecraft.
But this would not be a very promising way to go, if the only purpose of the orbiters were the search for life.
This offers the lowest power consumption but constrains the orbiter's mission design.
The non-italicized text is the current picture, based on data from several orbiters and five landers.
The mission will consist of an orbiter and a rover.
Due to closer surface proximity, the resolution for airplane mounted instruments is greatly improved over orbiter mounted instruments.
Many of these ancient hydrological landforms can now be linked to detailed mineral compositions, obtained by landers and orbiters in the past 10 years.
Each communication window to the orbiter last approximately 20 min, defined by the geometric visibility for an orbiter pass at 400 km altitude.
