{"id":8865,"date":"2014-09-21T13:05:39","date_gmt":"2014-09-21T17:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8865"},"modified":"2014-09-21T23:28:44","modified_gmt":"2014-09-22T03:28:44","slug":"maven-spacecraft-to-enter-mars-orbit-today-sept-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8865","title":{"rendered":"MAVEN spacecraft to enter Mars orbit today (Sept.21)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NASA&#8217;s\u00a0Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (<a href=\"http:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/maven\/\" target=\"_blank\">MAVEN<\/a>) spacecraft is set to go into orbit around the Red Planet this evening at 9:50 pm EDT. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/multimedia\/nasatv\/#.VB77tvldU4I\" target=\"_blank\">NASA TV<\/a>\u00a0coverage of the event starts at 9:30 pm EDT and lasts till 10:45 pm EDT.<\/p>\n<p>[ <strong>Update<\/strong> 11:30 pm EDT Sept.21, 2014: The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/maven\/main\/index.html#.VB-WOfldU4I\" target=\"_d\">MAVEN<\/a>\u00a0spacecraft\u00a0this evening entered Mars orbit after firing its engine\u00a0successfully : <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press\/2014\/september\/nasa-s-newest-mars-mission-spacecraft-enters-orbit-around-red-planet\/#.VB-W5_ldU4I\" target=\"_d\">NASA\u2019s Newest Mars Mission Spacecraft Enters Orbit around Red Planet &#8211;\u00a0NASA<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>NASA\u2019s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft successfully entered Mars\u2019 orbit at 10:24 p.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 21, where it now will prepare to study the Red Planet\u2019s upper atmosphere as never done before. MAVEN is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>]<\/p>\n<p>Below is a NASA item about the arrival of MAVEN at Mars:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/news\/news.php?release=2014-314\" target=\"_d\">NASA Mars Spacecraft Ready for Sept. 21 Orbit Insertion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>NASA&#8217;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 (711 million kilometers).<\/p>\n<p>Flight Controllers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado, will be responsible for the health and safety of the spacecraft throughout the process. The spacecraft&#8217;s mission timeline will place the spacecraft in orbit at approximately 6:50 p.m. PDT (9:50 p.m. EDT).<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1Hm8b-L62y4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So far, so good with the performance of the spacecraft and payloads on the cruise to Mars,&#8221; said David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager at NASA&#8217;s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. &#8220;The team, the flight system, and all ground assets are ready for Mars orbit insertion.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The orbit-insertion maneuver will begin with the brief firing of six small thruster engines to steady the spacecraft. The engines will ignite and burn for 33 minutes to slow the craft, allowing it to be pulled into an elliptical orbit with a period of 35 hours.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MJQBTWKhSgo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Following orbit insertion, MAVEN will begin a six-week commissioning phase that includes maneuvering the spacecraft into its final orbit and testing its instruments and science-mapping commands. Thereafter, MAVEN will begin its one-Earth-year primary mission to take measurements of the composition, structure and escape of gases in Mars&#8217; upper atmosphere and its interaction with the sun and solar wind.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The MAVEN science mission focuses on answering questions about where did the water that was present on early Mars go, about where did the carbon dioxide go,&#8221; said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator from the University of Colorado, Boulder&#8217;s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. &#8220;These are important questions for understanding the history of Mars, its climate, and its potential to support at least microbial life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>MAVEN launched Nov. 18, 2013, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying three instrument packages. It is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars. The mission&#8217;s combination of detailed measurements at specific points in Mars&#8217; atmosphere and global imaging provides a powerful tool for understanding the properties of the Red Planet&#8217;s upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;MAVEN is another NASA robotic scientific explorer that is paving the way for our journey to Mars,&#8221; said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. &#8220;Together, robotics and humans will pioneer the Red Planet and the solar system to help answer some of humanity&#8217;s fundamental questions about life beyond Earth.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The spacecraft&#8217;s principal investigator is based at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at University of Colorado, Boulder. The university provided two science instruments and leads science operations, as well as education and public outreach, for the mission.<\/p>\n<p>NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the project and also provided two science instruments for the mission. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley provided four science instruments for MAVEN. NASA&#8217;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, provides navigation and Deep Space Network support, and Electra telecommunications relay hardware and operations. JPL manages the Mars Exploration Program for NASA.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about the MAVEN mission, visit:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/maven\">www.nasa.gov\/maven<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/maven\/\">mars.nasa.gov\/maven\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA&#8217;s\u00a0Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is set to go into orbit around the Red Planet this evening at 9:50 pm EDT. NASA TV\u00a0coverage of the event starts at 9:30 pm EDT and lasts till 10:45 pm EDT. [ Update 11:30 pm EDT Sept.21, 2014: The MAVEN\u00a0spacecraft\u00a0this evening entered Mars orbit after firing its &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8865\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">MAVEN spacecraft to enter Mars orbit today (Sept.21)<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78,13,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mars","category-space-science","category-space-systems"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-2iZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8862,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8862","url_meta":{"origin":8865,"position":0},"title":"&#8216;NASA Solve&#8217;, aimed at citizen scientists, opens with Mars Balance Mass Challenge","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA opens the\u00a0citizens science program NASA Solve\u00a0: NASA Launches New Citizen Science Website; Opens Challenge to Participate in Future Mars Missions NASA announced Saturday the opening of registration for its Mars Balance Mass Challenge and the launch of its new website, NASA Solve, at the World Maker Faire in New\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;DIY space&quot;","block_context":{"text":"DIY space","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/OThhRvvIRew\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8417,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8417","url_meta":{"origin":8865,"position":1},"title":"NASA Mars orbiters prepare for comet passing close by","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Quite possible that someday a comet will pass near earth. (If it is headed into earth, there will be little we can do about it in time unless we have a sophisticated in-space infrastructure in place.) NASA\u2019s Mars Spacecraft Maneuvers to Prepare for Close Comet Flyby NASA is taking steps\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"This graphic depicts the orbit of comet C\/2013 A1 Siding Spring as it swings around the sun in 2014. On Oct. 19, the comet will have a very close pass at Mars. Its nucleus will miss Mars by about 82,000 miles (132,000 kilometers). The comet's trail of dust particles shed by the nucleus might be wide enough to reach Mars or might also miss it. For more information about this comet, see http:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/comets\/sidingspring\/.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nasa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/673xvariable_height\/public\/main_sidingspring_version07b-01_2.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8887,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8887","url_meta":{"origin":8865,"position":2},"title":"India&#8217;s MOM spacecraft reaches Mars","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"India\u2019s\u00a0Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)\u00a0probe successfully \u00a0entered\u00a0into orbit around the Red Planet\u00a0tonight. (See earlier post about the project.) \u00a0Launched on November 5th, 2013, the probe (also called Mangalyaan) needed to fire its engine for nearly 24 minutes to slow down sufficiently to be captured by Mars' gravity. The rocket and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Indian space&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Indian space","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=83"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2061,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=2061","url_meta":{"origin":8865,"position":3},"title":"Send your name and message to Mars on the NASA MAVEN spacecraft","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A NASA outreach effort with the\u00a0MAVEN Mars orbiter: NASA Invites Public to Send Names And Messages to Mars WASHINGTON -- \u00a0NASA is inviting members of the public to submit their names and a personal message online for a DVD to be carried aboard a spacecraft that will study the Martian\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Space participation&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Space participation","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=14"},"img":{"alt_text":"MAVEN-web-shot[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/MAVEN-web-shot1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10179,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10179","url_meta":{"origin":8865,"position":4},"title":"MAVEN detects aurora and high altitude dust cloud on Mars","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA MAVEN orbiter at spots some interesting phenomena in Martian atmosphere: NASA Spacecraft Detects Aurora and Mysterious Dust Cloud around Mars NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft has observed two unexpected phenomena in the Martian atmosphere: an unexplained high-altitude dust cloud and aurora that reaches deep into the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"15-045a[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/15-045a1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18128,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=18128","url_meta":{"origin":8865,"position":5},"title":"Space sciences roundup &#8211; March.7.2019","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images related to space related sciences: ** Video shows Hayabusa2 landing on asteroid Ryuga and firing a projectile that stired up material from the surface to allow for capturing samples of the asteroid to return to earth: Watch Hayabusa2's incredible touchdown on asteroid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/8419_PIA23046-web1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8865"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8874,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8865\/revisions\/8874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}