Lockheed Martin
Meeting MAVEN... Just thought I'd post pics of NASA's next Mars-bound spacecraft as it undergoes final testing prior to being shipped to Kennedy Space Center this August for a launch to the Red Planet between late November and early December. Known as the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission, this robotic probe would depart (aboard an Atlas V rocket) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida by December 7 and arrive at the Red Planet in September of next year. Unlike other craft such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), MAVEN will not be used to take highly-detailed photos of the Martian surface...but instead use its main science instruments to study the planet's atmosphere and determine how it evolved into its current incarnation (hence the long acronym behind MAVEN's name). The planned elliptical orbit for MAVEN will limit its ability to relay data (unlike MRO, NASA's Mars Odyssey and the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter) from spacecraft on the Martian surface—such as the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers, as well as NASA's Insight lander; scheduled to depart for the fourth rock from the Sun in 2016.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
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