Tag Archives: University of Colorado

MAVEN: Solar storms speed hydrogen loss from Mars atmosphere

Newly published MAVEN results indicate that atmospheric escape of hydrogen during a strong solar storm that impacted Mars in September 2017 was comparable to the seasonal escape of hydrogen over a full Martian year… [More at link]

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MAVEN: Deep-dip campaign #9 completed

MAVEN has successfully completed the 9th deep dip campaign of the mission. Two walk-out maneuvers were performed to raise the periapsis (closest approach to Mars) of the spacecraft by 33 km: ● The first maneuver was performed on May 1. … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Deep-dip campaign #9 begins

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 … Continue reading

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MAVEN webinar: Do habitable worlds require magnetic fields?

[The MAVEN mission is holding a public webinar on April 18, 2018, at 7 p.m. Eastern; 4 p.m. Pacific.] What does it take for a planet to be hospitable for life? Join MAVEN Co-Investigator Dr. Dave Brain of the Laboratory … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Meteoric metal chemistry in Mars’ atmosphere

When dust particles enter the Mars’ atmosphere, collisions with air molecules cause heating and evaporation, and the continuous injection of metal atoms and ions into Mars’ atmosphere. The MAVEN Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, or IUVS, instrument has detected a layer of … Continue reading

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MAVEN mission update

MAVEN Principal Investigator, Bruce Jakosky, provides an update on the mission during this discussion with NASA Planetary Science Director, Jim Green. The segment of the “Gravity Assist” podcast that includes Bruce talking about Mars and MAVEN can be heard here: … Continue reading

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MAVEN sheds light on habitability of distant planets

How long might a rocky, Mars-like planet be habitable if it were orbiting a red dwarf star? It’s a complex question but one that NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission can help answer. “The MAVEN mission tells us that … Continue reading

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MAVEN: 3D orbit visualizer

Check out this 3D viewer from the MAVEN Science Data Center at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. This Cesium product is a fun (and useful) visualization tool that displays MAVEN’s orbit around Mars, its orientation as it points … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Mars has a twisted magnetotail

Mars has an invisible magnetic “tail” that is twisted by interaction with the solar wind, according to new research using data from MAVEN. MAVEN is in orbit around Mars gathering data on how the Red Planet lost much of its … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Large solar storm sparks global aurora, doubles radiation levels at surface

An unexpectedly strong blast from the Sun hit Mars this month, observed by NASA missions in orbit and on the surface. “NASA’s distributed set of science missions is in the right place to detect activity on the Sun and examine … Continue reading

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