WATCH: NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft has entered into orbit around Mars, after a 10-month journey. The goal is to have MAVEN help scientists understand why Mars went from being capable of sustaining life to being barren. Mike Armstrong reports.
TORONTO – The red planet has yet another visitor.
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft inserted itself into orbit around Mars at 10:24 p.m. ET, ending its 10-month-long journey and beginning its scientific mission to shed light on the history of Mars.
The spacecraft’s mission is to study the Martian atmosphere, helping scientists better understand why Mars went from being a planet capable of sustaining life, to the barren land it is today.
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MAVEN’s primary mission will take it from 150 km to 125 km above the planet, enabling it to take measurements of the atmosphere where the upper and lower atmospheres meet.
“NASA has a long history of scientific discovery at Mars and the safe arrival of MAVEN opens another chapter,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of the NASA Science Mission Directorate. “Maven will complement NASA’s other Martian robotic explorers—and those of our partners around the globe — to answer some fundamental questions about Mars and life beyond Earth.”
MAVEN was launched on Nov. 18 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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