ODYSSEY MARS MARIE: Calibrated Space Radiation Measurements from Mars Orbit

The Martian Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE) aboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft collected calibrated radiation data. NASA launched the instrument on April 7, 2001, with data collection starting in late April 2001 during the cruise phase and continuing after orbital insertion in March 2002. Measurements were taken intermittently during cruise and then from March 2002 to the present with routine minor interruptions.

Use Cases

• Modeling astronaut radiation exposure during Mars transit based on cruise phase measurements.
• Analyzing long-term radiation trends in Mars orbit based on data collected from 2002 onward.
• Studying directional particle flux during solar events based on the description of non-isotropic radiation.
• Calibrating or validating space radiation models using in-situ measurements from the MARIE instrument.

Strengths

• Data collection spans over two decades, from the 2001 cruise phase to the present.
• Instrument orientation is documented (points opposite the spacecraft's velocity vector).
• Data provenance is clear, originating from a NASA Mars mission.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description mentions routine data interruptions of up to 36 hours during the orbital phase.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the Martian Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE) sensor aboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Time Range

2001-04 to present, with a gap from early August 2001 to early March 2002.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 04:37:32.413369; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Mars orbit and interplanetary space during cruise.