This morning at 7:43 AM EDT NASA successfully launched the new Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter into space to begin its long journey to the red planet.

Watch the Launch: MRO Takes offCourtesy NASA

This new mission to Mars will put the satellite into a low orbit to examine the planet in the highest detail ever captured. The orbiter will travel for 8 months before it goes into orbit around Mars.

One of the main goals of this mission is to scout out information that will help us in future missions that will actually land on Mars. So once it gets there it will deploy six new instruments to analyze the atmosphere, scour the surface, and even image deep below the surface of the planet.

• Atmosphere - One of the cameras aboard the orbiter will give us a daily picture of the global weather on Mars.
• Surface - The orbiter has the best telescoping camera ever sent to another planet. This will allow us to see crisp pictures of features on the surface as small as your dining room table.
• Subsurface - The Italian Space Agency built a special ground-penetrating radar that will allow scientists to spot underground water and mineral deposits. This might help us know more about Mars's past and even plan future mining missions for elements not found in abundance on Earth.

Learn more about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and other NASA Mars programs

What do you think is the most important reason to travel to Mars? To mine its resources? For human colonization? To find out it there was/is life on Mars? Something else?

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