NASA launched its MAVEN spacecraft this afternoon at approximately 1:28 PM Eastern, and begins its 440 million-mile trip to Mars.
MAVEN, which stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, will study Mars’ upper atmosphere to understand why it lost most of its atmosphere, and liquid water.
About 90 days into its cruise to #Mars, #MAVEN will be pointed toward Earth activate its 2-m High Gain Antenna | https://t.co/3mfq5OZTXJ
— NASA’s MAVEN Mission (@MAVEN2Mars) November 18, 2013
Two to three weeks after launch, most of #MAVEN’s instruments will power up for the first time and perform a post-launch checkout. #Mars
— MAVEN Mission to Mars (@MAVEN2Mars) November 18, 2013
The 6 instruments in #MAVEN‘s Particles and Fields (P&F) Package will remain powered on and will collect data during the cruise to #Mars. — NASA’s MAVEN Mission (@MAVEN2Mars) November 18, 2013
The trip to Mars is expected to take around 10 months, and unlike the Curiosity rover, MAVEN will hang out in the planet’s orbit.
#MAVEN is on schedule to enter #Mars orbit on Sept. 22, 2014, when it will begin a 5-week commissioning phase, testing all systems. #Science
— NASA’s MAVEN Mission (@MAVEN2Mars) November 18, 2013
During the #MAVEN cruise phase, flight operators will execute at least four trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs). We’ll update on each.
— NASA’s MAVEN Mission (@MAVEN2Mars) November 18, 2013
Twitter users are excited for the future of Mars exploration, and some took the time to crack a few jokes:
#MAVEN heading to Mars is an even bigger deal than when he eliminated the Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. — Steve Wille (@SteveWille34) November 18, 2013
Going to mars? Man that’s so #MAVEN — moviemankev (@KevOKeefe1979) November 18, 2013
NASA sends another space shuttle to Mars that I really wish I had been on. #MAVEN #MovingToMars
— nadia (@nadiiakarii) November 18, 2013
Costing $671 million, MAVEN should help further unravel the mysteries surrounding Mars, and even potentially help us prevent the same thing from happening to Earth.
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