Tag Archives: MAVEN

NASA extends MAVEN and other Mars missions

Posted on July 5, 2016 by rburnham

Based upon the 2016 Planetary Mission Senior Review Panel report, NASA this week directed nine extended missions to plan for continued operations through fiscal years 2017 and 2018. Final decisions on mission extensions are contingent on the outcome of the … Continue reading →

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MAVEN deep-dip maneuver #5 has begun

Posted on June 10, 2016 by rburnham

MAVEN‬ began its fifth “deep dip” campaign of the mission this week. Three maneuvers were successfully carried out to lower the periapsis (or lowest) altitude of the spacecraft by approximately 29 km, placing MAVEN into the targeted density corridor, where … Continue reading →

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MAVEN’s 5th deep-dip campaign begins June 6

Posted on June 3, 2016 by rburnham

MAVEN is the first spacecraft at Mars specifically designed to study the planet’s upper atmosphere. Its goal is to determine how Mars lost its water and its thick, early atmosphere to space. MAVEN’s elliptical orbit normally takes it from 6,200 … Continue reading →

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MAVEN data solves Mars particle-beam puzzle

Posted on May 25, 2016 by rburnham

High above the surface of Mars’s sunlit side, protons of the solar wind begin to smash into the upper reaches of Mars’s atmosphere. NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) spacecraft, which arrived at the Red Planet in 2014, … Continue reading →

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MAVEN passes 600 days at Mars

Posted on May 17, 2016 by rburnham

The MAVEN spacecraft entered Mars’ orbit on September 21, 2014 and has now spent more than 600 (Earth) days exploring the climate history of the Red Planet through its atmosphere. In addition to keeping up with the mission on Facebook, … Continue reading →

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MAVEN surveys the ionosphere of Mars

Posted on May 10, 2016 by rburnham

The ionosphere of Mars ‪plays a critical role in the loss of atmospheric gases and water to space. ‪MAVEN‬ has provided the first measurements of the composition of the ionosphere of Mars since Viking in 1976. Unlike Viking, which provided … Continue reading →

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Comet’s flyby overwhelmed Mars’ magnetic field

Posted on March 9, 2016 by rburnham

Just weeks before the historic encounter of comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) with Mars in October 2014, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft entered orbit around the Red Planet. To protect sensitive equipment aboard MAVEN from possible harm, … Continue reading →

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MAVEN observes Phobos in ultraviolet

Posted on February 29, 2016 by rburnham

NASA scientists are closer to solving the mystery of how Mars’ moon Phobos formed. In late November and early December 2015, the MAVEN mission made a series of close approaches to the Martian moon Phobos, collecting data from within 300 … Continue reading →

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MAVEN measures speed & rate of Mars atmosphere loss by solar wind stripping

Posted on November 5, 2015 by rburnham

The MAVEN mission has identified the process that appears to have played a key role in the transition of the Martian climate from an early, warm and wet environment that might have supported surface life to the cold, arid planet … Continue reading →

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NASA briefing on fate of Mars atmosphere, Nov 5

Posted on November 2, 2015 by rburnham

NASA will provide details of key science findings from the agency’s ongoing exploration of Mars during a news briefing at 2 p.m. EST (19:00 UTC) on Thursday, Nov. 5, in the James Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The … Continue reading →

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