Tag Archives: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN

MAVEN: Comet’s atomic hydrogen coma in UV

Posted on October 23, 2014 by rburnham

The MAVEN spacecraft obtained an ultraviolet image of hydrogen surrounding comet Siding Spring on Friday, October 17th, two days before the comet’s closest approach to Mars. The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) instrument imaged the comet at a distance of 5.3 … Continue reading →

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Mars Odyssey, MRO, MAVEN: healthy after flyby

Posted on October 19, 2014 by rburnham

Mars Odyssey: “The telemetry received from Odyssey this afternoon confirms not only that the spacecraft is in fine health but also that it conducted the planned observations of comet Siding Spring within hours of the comet’s closest approach to Mars,” … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: Status update, October 15, 2014

Posted on October 16, 2014 by rburnham

Commissioning activities have gone extremely well over the few weeks since MAVEN entered Mars orbit on September 21. Since then, we have successfully completed four engine burns to lower MAVEN’s orbit. MAVEN now orbits Mars every 4.6 hours with a … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: First look at upper atmosphere

Posted on October 15, 2014 by rburnham

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft has provided scientists their first look at a storm of energetic solar particles at Mars, produced unprecedented ultraviolet images of the tenuous oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon coronas surrounding the Red Planet, and … Continue reading →

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Mars fleet preps for Comet Siding Spring, Oct. 19

Posted on October 9, 2014 by rburnham

NASA’s extensive fleet of science assets, particularly those orbiting and roving Mars, have front row seats to image and study a once-in-a-lifetime comet flyby on Sunday, Oct. 19. Comet C/2013 A1, also known as Comet Siding Spring, will pass within … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: Status update, September 30, 2014

Posted on October 6, 2014 by rburnham

Everything is going well on the mission as MAVEN orbits Mars! All systems are performing nominally. Following Mars Orbit Insertion on Sept. 21 the spacecraft successfully completed two engine burns which brings MAVEN closer to its planned science orbit. We … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: First images of upper atmosphere

Posted on September 25, 2014 by rburnham

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft has obtained its first observations of the extended upper atmosphere surrounding Mars. The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) instrument obtained these false-color images eight hours after the successful completion of Mars orbit insertion … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: Status update, September 22, 2014

Posted on September 23, 2014 by rburnham

Right on schedule last night at 9:50 p.m. EDT, the MAVEN spacecraft fired its main engines for 33 minutes and 26 seconds in order to slow down the spacecraft enough to capture into Mars orbit. Following that event at about … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: Mars & solar coronal mass ejections

Posted on September 23, 2014 by rburnham

Two main types of explosions occur on the Sun: solar flares and coronal mass ejections [CME]…giant clouds of solar material that take one to three days to reach Earth. [...] From Sept. 22 to 26, 2014, we explore different aspects … Continue reading →

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MAVEN is now orbiting Mars

Posted on September 21, 2014 by rburnham

MAVEN arrived at Mars this evening, firing its six main engines for about half an hour. This adjusted its velocity to allow MAVEN to be captured by Martian gravity. MAVEN’s mission begins with a lopsided, 35-hour initial orbit, which will … Continue reading →

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