![](https://thesolarsystemandbeyond.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/mro.jpg?w=500)
(NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Corby Waste)
NASA are taking steps to protect their fleet of Mars-orbiting space crafts, while also preparing for a valuable opportunity to gather scientific data, as comet C/2013 A1 (otherwise known as Siding Spring) passes by the Red Planet on October 19.