MAVEN Orbiter
MAVEN's mission was designed for two years, but the spacecraft has enough fuel to operate through 2030
MAVEN's mission was designed for two years, but the spacecraft has enough fuel to operate through 2030
On September 21, 2014, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft will enter orbit around Mars, completing an interplanetary journey of 10 months and 442 million miles (711 million kilometers). The orbitinsertion maneuver will begin with six thruster engines firing briefly to damp out deviations in pointing. Then, the six main engines will quickly ignite and burn for 33 minutes to slow the craft, allowing it to be captured in an elliptical orbit with a period of 35 hours. Six smaller maneuvers will be performed later to bring the highest and lowest points of the orbit to the altitudes desired for the science orbit. At its closest point, MAVEN will be flying in the upper atmosphere, about 90 miles (approximately 150 kilometers) above the surface. At its farthest point, the spacecraft will be about 3,900 miles (roughly 6,300 kilometers) above the surface, a vantage point that will allow it to observe the entire planet.
Following orbit insertion, MAVEN will begin a 6-week commissioning phase that includes maneuvering into its final science orbit and testing the instruments and science-mapping sequences. Then, MAVEN will begin its 1-Earth-year primary mission, during which it will make its key measurements.
MAVEN launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 18, 2013, carrying three instrument suites. The Particles and Fields Package (PFP) contains six instruments to characterize the solar wind and the ionosphere of Mars. These are the: