Today's arrival will bring to six the number of spacecraft studying Mars right now, if the orbit insertion is successful. The Mars robotic armada includes:
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: NASAs newest satellite is to enter orbit Friday, shrink its orbit over six months and begin studies in earnest by November.
Mars Exploration Rovers: NASAs Spirit and Opportunity robots have been exploring the landscape and studying rocks since January 2004.
Mars Express: European satellite has been taking high-resolution images since December 2003.
Mars Odyssey: NASA satellite entered orbit in 2001, surveyed chemicals and minerals and measured radiation. It acts as a communications relay, especially for the rovers.
Mars Global Surveyor: NASA spacecraft arrived in Martian orbit in 1997 and still studies the planet and its weather while acting as a communications relay.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
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