NASA to go to Mars with MAVEN robotic spacecraft

William Atkins
Tuesday, 16 September 2008 04:27

Science - Space

Eight science instruments aboard the spacecraft will take measurements of the planet for about one Earth-year (approximately one-half Martian year) from an elliptical orbit ranging from 90 to 3,870 miles (150 to 6,450 kilometers) above the planet.

Some of these instruments include a group of remote sensing instruments, to be built by LASP, which will determine characteristics of the overall upper atmosphere of Mars.

The University of California at Berkeley, with help from LASP and GSFC, will build six instruments to analyze the solar wind, along with the upper atmosphere and the ionosphere of Mars.

A group of instruments, from GSFC, called the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer will measure the composition of the atmosphere, along with identifying isotopes of neutral and charged gases within the atmosphere.

The University of Colorado-Boulder news release of September 15, 2008 (“NASA Selects CU-Boulder To Lead $485 Million Mars Mission”) provides additional information about the mission.

Jakosky states in the UCB news release, "We are absolutely thrilled about this announcement. We have an outstanding mission that will obtain fundamental science results for Mars. We have a great team and we are ready to go."