This artist concept depicts the process of orbital
insertion of NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN)
spacecraft.
Image Credit:
NASA/GSFC
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is nearing
its scheduled Sept. 21 insertion into Martian orbit after completing a 10-month
interplanetary journey of 442 million miles.
Flight Controllers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado,
will be responsible for the health and safety of the spacecraft throughout the
process. The spacecraft’s mission timeline will place the spacecraft in orbit at
approximately 9:50 p.m. EDT.
“So far, so good with the performance of the spacecraft and payloads on the
cruise to Mars,” said David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager at NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The team, the flight system, and
all ground assets are ready for Mars orbit insertion.”
The orbit-insertion maneuver will begin with the brief firing of six small
thruster engines to steady the spacecraft. The engines will ignite and burn for
33 minutes to slow the craft, allowing it to be pulled into an elliptical orbit
with a period of 35 hours.
Following orbit insertion, MAVEN will begin a six-week commissioning phase
that includes maneuvering the spacecraft into its final orbit and testing its
instruments and science-mapping commands. Thereafter, MAVEN will begin its
one-Earth-year primary mission to take measurements of the composition,
structure and escape of gases in Mars’ upper atmosphere and its interaction with
the sun and solar wind.
“The MAVEN science mission focuses on answering questions about where did the
water that was present on early Mars go, about where did the carbon dioxide go,”
said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator from the University of
Colorado, Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. “These are
important questions for understanding the history of Mars, its climate, and its
potential to support at least microbial life.”
MAVEN launched Nov. 18, 2013, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying three
instrument packages. It is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the upper
atmosphere of Mars. The mission’s combination of detailed measurements at
specific points in Mars’ atmosphere and global imaging provides a powerful tool
for understanding the properties of the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere.
“MAVEN is another NASA robotic scientific explorer that is paving the way for
our journey to Mars,” said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division
at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Together, robotics and humans will pioneer
the Red Planet and the solar system to help answer some of humanity’s
fundamental questions about life beyond Earth.”
The spacecraft’s principal investigator is based at the Laboratory for
Atmospheric and Space Physics at University of Colorado, Boulder. The university
provided two science instruments and leads science operations, as well as
education and public outreach, for the mission.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the project
and also provided two science instruments for the mission. Lockheed Martin built
the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The Space Sciences
Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley provided four science
instruments for MAVEN. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California,
provides navigation and Deep Space Network support, and Electra
telecommunications relay hardware and operations.
To learn more about the MAVEN mission, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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