MAVEN has begun its ninth deep dip campaign by performing two entry maneuvers to place the spacecraft into a corridor where Mars’ atmospheric density is between 2.0 – 3.5 kg/km³.
The two deep dip entry maneuvers consisted of a 4.5 m/s ∆V (change in velocity) maneuver to lower periapsis (the lowest altitude of the spacecraft) by 28 km (on April 23) and a 0.6 m/s ∆V maneuver to lower periapsis another 4 km (on April 24).
The periapsis latitude during deep dip #9 is 51° S and the orbital period of the spacecraft is 4 hours 26 minutes.
Each MAVEN deep dip campaign is intended to not only lower the altitude of the spacecraft down into the well-mixed portion of the atmosphere, but to do so in a location where MAVEN’s orbit is such that it can observe a variety of solar conditions and their effects on Mars’ atmosphere over time. [More at link]