MAVEN (spacecraft)
Encyclopedia
Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) is a planned space exploration
mission to send a space probe
to orbit Mars
. Scientists conducting the mission will study the atmosphere of Mars
. The principal investigator for MAVEN is Bruce Jakosky
of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
at the University of Colorado at Boulder
.
It is was spawned by NASA
's Mars Scout Program
, which although discontinued in 2010, yielded Phoenix
and MAVEN, as well as numerous missions studies. Mars Scout missions target a cost less than USD$485 million.
90 to 3,870 miles above the planet's surface. MAVEN will cost US$485 million. It will focus on collecting data about the Martian atmosphere
.
MAVEN will have four primary scientific objectives:
MAVEN's measurements will provide additional scientific context with which to test models for current methane formation in Mars. NASA will launch MAVEN using an Atlas V
401. The launch window is between November 18, 2013 and December 7, 2013. Assuming a November 18 launch, MAVEN will be inserted into Mars orbit on September 16, 2014.
and Mars Odyssey
spacecraft. Lockheed Martin Space Systems
will build and test the spacecraft.
. It will carry instruments to measure characteristics of Mars' atmospheric gases, upper atmosphere, solar wind
, and ionosphere
. University of Colorado Boulder, University of California, Berkeley
and Goddard Space Flight Center
will each build a suite of instruments to fly on the spacecraft.
The instrument suites will include:
Particles and Field (P&F) Package
Remote Sensing (RS) Package
Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) Package
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
mission to send a space probe
Space probe
A robotic spacecraft is a spacecraft with no humans on board, that is usually under telerobotic control. A robotic spacecraft designed to make scientific research measurements is often called a space probe. Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to...
to orbit Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. Scientists conducting the mission will study the atmosphere of Mars
Atmosphere of Mars
The atmosphere of Mars is relatively thin and is composed mostly of carbon dioxide . There has been interest in studying its composition since the detection of trace amounts of methane, which may indicate the presence of life on Mars, but may also be produced by a geochemical process, volcanic or...
. The principal investigator for MAVEN is Bruce Jakosky
Bruce Jakosky
Bruce Martin Jakosky has been involved with the Viking, Solar Mesosphere Explorer, Clementine, Mars Observer, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Science Laboratory and MAVEN spacecraft missions, and is involved in planning future spacecraft missions.-Career:Jakosky heads up the University of...
of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics is a research organization at the University of Colorado at Boulder. LASP is a research institute with over 100 research scientists ranging in fields from solar influences, to Earth's and other planetary atmospherics processes, space weather, space...
at the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
.
It is was spawned by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Mars Scout Program
Mars Scout Program
The Mars Scout Program was a NASA initiative to send a series of small, low-cost robotic missions to Mars, competitively selected from innovative proposals by the scientific community. The program would have had an array of missions destined to reach Mars, and study it at low costs. Each Scout...
, which although discontinued in 2010, yielded Phoenix
Phoenix (spacecraft)
Phoenix was a robotic spacecraft on a space exploration mission on Mars under the Mars Scout Program. The Phoenix lander descended on Mars on May 25, 2008...
and MAVEN, as well as numerous missions studies. Mars Scout missions target a cost less than USD$485 million.
Program overview
On September 15, 2008 NASA announced that it had selected MAVEN to be the Mars Scout 2013 mission, a part of the Mars Scout Program. There was one other finalist and eight other proposals that were competing against MAVEN to be the Mars Scout 2013 mission. MAVEN will be launched in late 2013 and is planned to enter Mars orbit during the fall of 2014. MAVEN will enter into an elliptic orbitElliptic orbit
In astrodynamics or celestial mechanics an elliptic orbit is a Kepler orbit with the eccentricity less than 1; this includes the special case of a circular orbit, with eccentricity equal to zero. In a stricter sense, it is a Kepler orbit with the eccentricity greater than 0 and less than 1 . In a...
90 to 3,870 miles above the planet's surface. MAVEN will cost US$485 million. It will focus on collecting data about the Martian atmosphere
Atmosphere of Mars
The atmosphere of Mars is relatively thin and is composed mostly of carbon dioxide . There has been interest in studying its composition since the detection of trace amounts of methane, which may indicate the presence of life on Mars, but may also be produced by a geochemical process, volcanic or...
.
MAVEN will have four primary scientific objectives:
- Determine the role that loss of volatiles to space from the Mars atmosphere has played through time.
- Determine the current state of the upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and interactions with the solar windSolar windThe solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 1.5 and 10 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed over time...
. - Determine the current rates of escape of neutral gases and ionIonAn ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
s to space and the processes controlling them. - Determine the ratios of stable isotopeIsotopeIsotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
s in the Martian atmosphere.
MAVEN's measurements will provide additional scientific context with which to test models for current methane formation in Mars. NASA will launch MAVEN using an Atlas V
Atlas V
Atlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
401. The launch window is between November 18, 2013 and December 7, 2013. Assuming a November 18 launch, MAVEN will be inserted into Mars orbit on September 16, 2014.
Hardware overview
MAVEN's design will be based on those of the Mars Reconnaissance OrbiterMars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is a NASA multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and Exploration of Mars from orbit...
and Mars Odyssey
2001 Mars Odyssey
2001 Mars Odyssey is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million. Its mission is to use spectrometers and electronic imagers to hunt for evidence of past or...
spacecraft. Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It is headquartered in Denver, Colorado with additional sites in Sunnyvale, California; Newtown, Pennsylvania; Huntsville, Alabama; and elsewhere in the US and UK...
will build and test the spacecraft.
Scientific instruments
MAVEN will study Mars' upper atmosphere and how it interacts with the SunSun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. It will carry instruments to measure characteristics of Mars' atmospheric gases, upper atmosphere, solar wind
Solar wind
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 1.5 and 10 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed over time...
, and ionosphere
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
. University of Colorado Boulder, University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and Goddard Space Flight Center
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...
will each build a suite of instruments to fly on the spacecraft.
The instrument suites will include:
Particles and Field (P&F) Package
- Built by the University of California, Berkeley Space Sciences LaboratorySpace Sciences LaboratoryThe Space Sciences Laboratory is an Organized Research Unit of the University of California, Berkeley. It is located in the Berkeley Hills above the university campus...
.- Solar Wind Electron Analyzer (SWEA)-Measures solar wind and ionospheric electrons
- Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA)-Measures solar wind and magnetosheath ion density and velocity
- Suprathermal and Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC)-Measures thermal ions to moderate-energy escaping ions
- Solar Energetic Particle (SEP)-Determines the impact of SEPs on the upper atmosphere
- Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW)-Determines ionospheric properties and wave heating of escaping ions and solar EUV input to atmosphere
- Magnetometer (MAG)-Measures interplanetary solar wind and ionospheric magnetic fields
Remote Sensing (RS) Package
- Built by the University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space PhysicsLaboratory for Atmospheric and Space PhysicsThe Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics is a research organization at the University of Colorado at Boulder. LASP is a research institute with over 100 research scientists ranging in fields from solar influences, to Earth's and other planetary atmospherics processes, space weather, space...
.- Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrometer (IUVS)-Measures global characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere
Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) Package
- Built by Goddard Space Flight Center
- To measure the composition and isotopeIsotopeIsotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
s of neutral gases and ions
- To measure the composition and isotope
See also
- Atmosphere of MarsAtmosphere of MarsThe atmosphere of Mars is relatively thin and is composed mostly of carbon dioxide . There has been interest in studying its composition since the detection of trace amounts of methane, which may indicate the presence of life on Mars, but may also be produced by a geochemical process, volcanic or...
- Mars Scout ProgramMars Scout ProgramThe Mars Scout Program was a NASA initiative to send a series of small, low-cost robotic missions to Mars, competitively selected from innovative proposals by the scientific community. The program would have had an array of missions destined to reach Mars, and study it at low costs. Each Scout...
- Mars Trace Gas Mission
- New Frontiers ProgramNew Frontiers programThe New Frontiers program is a series of space exploration missions being conducted by NASA with the purpose of researching several of the Sun's planets including Jupiter, Venus, and the dwarf planet Pluto...
- Space weatherSpace weatherSpace weather is the concept of changing environmental conditions in near-Earth space or thespace from the Sun's atmosphere to the Earth's atmosphere. It is distinct from the concept ofweather within the Earth's planetary atmosphere...