Tag Archives: MAVEN

MAVEN sheds light on habitability of distant planets

Posted on December 14, 2017 by rburnham

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

Posted on November 10, 2017 by rburnham

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

Posted on October 19, 2017 by rburnham

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

Posted on September 29, 2017 by rburnham

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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MAVEN completes Deep-Dip #7

Posted on August 24, 2017 by rburnham

The MAVEN spacecraft has successfully completed an eight-day deep dip campaign with the execution of a 1.8 m/sec. ∆V (change in velocity) maneuver on August 22 to raise periapsis by 11 km. The post-maneuver altitude of the spacecraft is currently … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: Deep-Dip Campaign #7 begins

Posted on August 15, 2017 by rburnham

After two weeks with minimal contact due to the recent Mars solar conjunction, the MAVEN spacecraft has recovered full communications and has resumed nominal science operations. Beginning on August 4, the team spent four days examining the health of the … Continue reading →

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MAVEN team preparing for Deep Dip #7

Posted on August 9, 2017 by rburnham

MAVEN is scheduled to exit Mars solar conjunction—the period when Earth and Mars are obscured from each other by the sun—on August 5, 2017. As solar conjunction comes to a close, the MAVEN team is preparing to return to normal … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: Top 10 discoveries of first 1,000 days in orbit

Posted on June 16, 2017 by rburnham

On June 17, the MAVEN mission will celebrate 1,000 Earth days in orbit around the Red Planet. Since its launch in November 2013 and its orbit insertion in September 2014, MAVEN has been exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars. MAVEN … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: Martian atmosphere contains meteoritic metal ions

Posted on April 10, 2017 by rburnham

Mars has electrically charged metal atoms (ions) high in its atmosphere, according to new results from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. The metal ions can reveal previously invisible activity in the mysterious electrically charged upper atmosphere (ionosphere) of Mars. “MAVEN has made … Continue reading →

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MAVEN argon study: 65% of Mars atmosphere lost

Posted on March 30, 2017 by rburnham

Solar wind and radiation are responsible for stripping the Martian atmosphere, transforming Mars from a planet that could have supported life billions of years ago into a frigid desert world, according to new results from NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and … Continue reading →

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