All three NASA orbiters around Mars confirmed their healthy status Sunday after each took shelter behind Mars during a period of risk from dust released by a passing comet. Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter all are part of a campaign to study comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring and possible effects on the Martian atmosphere from gases and dust released by the comet. The comet sped past Mars today much closer than any other known comet flyby of Mars or Earth.
Additional information about the precautions and observations by each of the three orbiters is at
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4346
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4344
and
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4345
for Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and MAVEN, respectively.
For more information about comet Siding Spring and the investigations of its Mars flyby, visit:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/comets/sidingspring/
Illustration of spacecraft behind Mars as a comet flies by. Image credit: NASA.