Tag Archives: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN

NASA TV, web coverage set for MAVEN arrival

Posted on September 19, 2014 by rburnham

NASA Television will broadcast live the Sunday, Sept. 21, Mars orbital insertion of the agency’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, from 9:30 to 10:45 p.m. EDT. The broadcast also will be available on the agency’s website. The program, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

MAVEN ready for Sept. 21 orbit insertion

Posted on September 17, 2014 by rburnham

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

MAVEN: Closing in on Mars

Posted on September 15, 2014 by rburnham

Everything continues to go well with MAVEN as it is readied for arrival at Mars on Sunday, September 21st. All spacecraft systems are operating nominally. We had scheduled a final Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM-4) for September 12th. However, the maneuver … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

NASA briefing on MAVEN Mars orbit arrival

Posted on September 12, 2014 by rburnham

NASA will host a televised media briefing at 1 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Sept. 17, to outline activities around the Sunday, Sept. 21 orbital insertion at Mars of the agency’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft. The briefing will be … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

MAVEN makes final preparations for Mars arrival

Posted on September 8, 2014 by rburnham

On Sept. 21, 2014, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft will complete roughly 10 months of travel and enter orbit around the Red Planet. The orbit-insertion maneuver will be carried out as the spacecraft approaches Mars, wrapping up an … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

MAVEN nearing arrival at Mars

Posted on September 1, 2014 by rburnham

[MAVEN status update, August 29, 2014]  MAVEN continues on a smooth journey to Mars. All spacecraft systems are operating nominally. Since we are now in a “pre-Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) moratorium”, all instruments are powered off until after we arrive … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Colliding atmospheres: Mars vs C/Siding Spring

Posted on August 12, 2014 by rburnham

On October 19, 2014, Comet Siding Spring will pass by Mars only 132,000 km away — which would be like a comet passing about 1/3 of the distance between Earth and the Moon. The nucleus of the comet won’t hit … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

MAVEN status update: July 31, 2014

Posted on July 31, 2014 by rburnham

MAVEN continues on a smooth journey to Mars. All spacecraft and instrument systems are operating nominally… At the end of this month, we went into a “pre-Mars Orbit Insertion moratorium.” All systems required for a safe Mars Orbit Insertion remain … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

MAVEN: Exploring solar wind beyond Earth

Posted on July 2, 2014 by rburnham

As part of its goal to explore Mars’ upper atmosphere and its interaction with the Sun and the solar wind, MAVEN is exploring propagation of the solar wind and solar energetic particles (SEPs) beyond 1 Astronomical Unit [the distance between … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

MAVEN mission status, June 27, 2014

Posted on June 30, 2014 by rburnham

Mission status update, from David Mitchell, Project Manager, NASA Goddard: “MAVEN continues on a smooth journey to Mars. All spacecraft and instrument systems are operating nominally. This month has been a rather quiet period for spacecraft operations. A big focus … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , | Comments Off