Updates Who stole Marvin's water? The MAVEN investigation updates and discussion thread

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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/maven_20080915.html

NASA has selected a Mars robotic mission that will provide information about the Red Planet's atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability in greater detail than ever before.

Edit:- BBC report

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7618344.stm

N.

 

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Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN)

Construction on the spacecraft is in progress.
SPACE.com: "NASA's Next Mars Probe to Spy on Red Planet from Above"

The MAVEN mission will be the first to investigate Mars' upper atmosphere, in an attempt to understand what caused the Martian atmosphere to be lost into space. The spacecraft will also collect observations to help scientists piece together how this atmospheric loss has affected the planet's climate over time.

MAVEN will launch atop an Atlas V 401 in late 2013 and arrive at Mars in 2014.

On NASA
On Wikipedia

 

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MAVEN is on schedule and its launch date is finally approaching, so this thread for the mission will become more useful soon. Parts are coming together to construct the spacecraft.

AmericaSpace: "One Year To Launch: MAVEN Spacecraft Prepares For NASA's Next Mars Mission"

In one year, on November 18, 2013, the launch window will open for NASA’s next ambitious science mission to Mars, one that will – for the first time – be entirely devoted to studying the red planet’s thin upper atmosphere and answer questions about how and why the planet’s atmosphere has almost completely disappeared.
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JPL: "NASA's MAVEN Mission Completes Assembly"

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft is assembled and is undergoing environmental testing at Lockheed Martin Space Systems facilities, near Denver, Colo. MAVEN is the next mission to Mars and will be the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere.
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[N_Molson]

There are never too much missions to Mars :thumbup:

 

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This video explains MAVEN's significance, to study why Mars may have lost the bulk of its atmosphere billions of years ago:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLrzH-Rnr1c"]NASA | MAVEN: Mars Atmospheric Loss[/ame]

Scientists think that all of this (atmospheric sputtering) may have caused Mars to gradually transform from what may have been a very nice place to live into the dry, dusty world we know today. MAVEN will study this process and tell us how it works.

 

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The articles and video, obviously, focuses on MAVEN's magnetometer:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm8R-ap-R6I"]MAVEN Magnetometer[/ame]
NASA: "Measuring Mars: The MAVEN Magnetometer"

The Goddard-built MAVEN magnetometer will be a sensitive tool investigating what remains of the Red Planet’s magnetic "shield." It will play a key role in studying the planet’s atmosphere and interactions with solar wind, helping answer the question of why a planet once thought to have an abundance of liquid water became a frozen desert.
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Universe Today: "MAVEN’s Magnetometer Will Look Back in Time"

By measuring sections of the planet’s magnetic field, the magnetometer could help scientists create a bigger picture of the planet’s overall atmosphere.
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Universe Today: "MAVEN Takes Final Test Spins, Flexes Solar Panels Before Imminent Trek to Florida Launch Site"

MAVEN is NASA’s next mission to Mars and in less than three days time the spacecraft ships out on a cross country trek for the first step on the long sojourn to the Red Planet.

But before all that, technicians took MAVEN for a final spin test, flexed her solar arrays and bombarded her with sound and a whole lot more.
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Two more videos are included in the article.



The Planetary Society: "The road to Mars: updates on NASA's MAVEN and India's Mars Orbiter Mission"

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And via Twitter on Saturday came news that some of MAVEN's equipment has already departed Denver on a truck bound for Cape Canaveral. I've signed up for access to watch it launch, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to travel to try to see it yet. I just checked the Kennedy Media Archive to see if they've posted any photos of MAVEN launch vehicle processing, but it's evidently too early yet. MAVEN will be launching on an Atlas V 401 (that's an Atlas V with a 4-meter fairing and no external solid rocket boosters).
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AmericaSpace: Mars-Bound MAVEN Spacecraft Performing Final Testing Ahead Of November Launch

The Planetary Society Blog: A Government Shutdown Could Delay MAVEN's Launch to Mars

 

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Mars Daily: MAVEN Launch Preps on Schedule

 

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NASA: MEDIA ADVISORY M13-162 - NASA Hosts NASA TV News Briefing on Upcoming Mars Mission:

NASA will host a news briefing at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 28, to discuss the upcoming launch of the agency's next mission to Mars and the first devoted to understanding the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet.

The briefing on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission will take place at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St. SW in Washington, and air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

MAVEN is scheduled to launch at 1:28 p.m. EST Nov. 18 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. MAVEN's data will be used to study the history and change of Mars’ atmosphere, climate, and planetary habitability.

Briefing participants are:

• John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
• Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, Headquarters
• Lisa May, MAVEN program executive, Headquarters
• Kelly Fast, MAVEN program scientist, Headquarters
• Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, University of Colorado Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
• David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Spaceflight101: MAVEN Spacecraft begins Final Launch Preparations

 

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Florida Today: NASA spacecraft fueled for November flight to Mars

AmericaSpace: MAVEN Fueled For Mars, Pad Rollout Scheduled For First Week Of November

 

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NASA: RELEASE 13-315 - NASA Prepares to Launch First Mission to Explore Martian Atmosphere

 

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MAVEN mission news briefing:

 

[Codz]

NASA's MAVEN teaser trailer.

Universe Today article - http://www.universetoday.com/105772...-plan-martian-science-collaboration-in-orbit/

 

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NASA: What MAVEN Would See on Mars on Halloween

 

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ULA: MAVEN Launch Mission Booklet (PDF)

NASASpaceflight: Assessing the Martian atmosphere: MAVEN prepares for launch

 

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Don't forget about the other Mars mission!
The Planetary Society: "MAVEN has arrived at the launch pad"

As India's Mars Orbiter Mission continues to pump up the altitude of its orbit around Earth, NASA's MAVEN is making final preparations for its direct-to-Mars launch. All is proceeding acccording to schedule toward its November 18 launch at 1:28 EST / 10:28 PST / 18:28 UTC. Last week, scientists and engineers bid farewell to their spacecraft, enclosing it in the fairing that will protect its launch through Earth's atmosphere. That marked the last time that human hands will ever touch the Mars-bound craft.
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NASA:
MEDIA ADVISORY M13-171
NASA Sets MAVEN/Atlas V Launch Events Coverage

NASA's next Mars-bound spacecraft, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN), is set to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket Monday, Nov. 18.

The two-hour launch window extends from 1:28 p.m. to 3:28 p.m. EST. Liftoff will occur from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41.

Launch commentary coverage and prelaunch media briefings, will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

MAVEN is the second mission under NASA's Mars Scout Program. It will take critical measurements of the Martian upper atmosphere to help scientists understand climate change over the Red Planet's history. MAVEN is the first spacecraft devoted to exploring and understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. It will orbit the planet in an elliptical orbit that allows it to pass through and sample the entire upper atmosphere on every orbit. The spacecraft will investigate how the loss of Mars' atmosphere to space determined the history of water on the surface.

NASA will host a number of pre- and post-launch activities at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, including:

Friday, Nov. 15

• 1 p.m. - Prelaunch news conference on NASA TV
• 2 p.m. - MAVEN Spanish media briefing on NASA TV

Saturday, Nov. 16

• 9 a.m. - Atlas V launch vehicle rollout transportation departs the Kennedy Press Site parking lot at 9 a.m. (not on NASA TV)
• 1:30 p.m. - Remote camera placement at Space Launch Complex 41 transportation departs the Kennedy Press Site parking lot at 1:30 p.m. (not on NASA TV).
• 2 p.m. - MAVEN NASA Social on NASA TV

Sunday, Nov. 17

• 9 a.m. - PhoneSat 2 overview media availability at Kennedy's Press Site (not on NASA TV)
• 10 a.m. - MAVEN mission science briefing on NASA TV
• 11:30 a.m. - "The Path Toward Humans to Mars" briefing on NASA TV

Monday, Nov. 18

• 11 a.m. - Live prelaunch commentary begins on NASA TV
• Post-launch news conference on NASA TV targeted for about 2 1/2 hours after launch

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Spaceflight Now:

• Mission Status Center
  
  
• Atlas 5/MAVEN launch timeline
  
  
• Atlas launch ground track
  
  
  
  
• NASA's next Mars mission buttoned up for launch (PHOTO GALLERY)
  
  
• MAVEN hoisted atop Atlas 5 rocket (PHOTO GALLERY)

NASA: MAVEN Solar Wind Electron Analyzer Seeks Answers at Microscopic Levels

Mars Daily: MAVEN Aims To Answer Where Did the Water on Mars Go