Posted by tourdemars to Mars Odyssey at April 9, 2001 12:00 PM

The 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft zipped past the moon at 7,300 mph Sunday in a trouble-free day that followed a nearly flawless launch. The Denver-built NASA spacecraft will be 350,000 miles from Earth by 9 a.m. today, coasting toward an October arrival at the red planet. "We have transitioned out of launch mode and into cruise mode, and everything looks excellent," said James Neuman, head of the Lockheed Martin Astronautics team that is controlling the spacecraft from the company's Waterton Canyon facility, southwest of Denver.