The MAVEN Spacecraft Will Fly Closer to Mars to Help NASA's Next Rover

By Doris Elin Salazar 17 hours ago



An illustration of NASA's MAVEN orbiter with Mars in the background.(Image: © NASA)

NASA's MAVEN orbiter around Mars will pump its brakes in the Martian atmosphere to slide into tighter orbits around the Red Planet as its mission enters a new phase.

The 4-year-old mission, whose name is short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, will begin making elliptical orbits closer to Mars' surface, as well as prepare for its role as a future data-relay system for the agency's upcoming Mars 2020 rover.

This is a natural extension for the MAVEN mission; it already serves as an occasional "communication liaison" for NASA's Curiosity rover, according to an agency statement published on Feb. 11. [Mars: What We Know About the Red Planet]



Aerobraking plan for NASA's MAVEN mission. Pictured on the left is the current MAVEN orbit around Mars: 6,200 kilometers (about 3,850 miles) at highest altitude, and an orbit period of about 4.5 hours. The illustration in the center shows the aerobraking process: MAVEN performs a series of "deep dip" orbits approaching to within about 125 km (~78 miles) of Mars at lowest altitude, which slows down the spacecraft as its acted upon by the drag from the atmosphere. On the right, MAVEN is seen in its post-aerobraking orbit.

(Image: © Kel Elkins/Dan Gallagher/NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio)

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https://www.space.com/mars-orbiter-maven-closer-orbit-new-role.html