Fri, Sep 19, 2008
Probe Will Be Based On MRO And Mars Odyssey Spacecraft
Lockheed Martin tells ANN the company is proud to have been
selected by NASA to design, build and operate the spacecraft for
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) program.
NASA's newest mission will analyze the upper atmosphere and past
climate change on Mars.
The $485-million project is led by principal investigator Bruce
Jakosky of the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric
and Space Physics (LASP). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center will
manage the mission.
Formally announced by NASA earlier this week,
MAVEN is scheduled to launch in late 2013 and arrive at Mars in the
fall of 2015. The spacecraft will circle Mars in an elliptical
orbit as it studies current atmospheric losses with an emphasis on
the role of the solar wind. These present-day losses will give
insight to the massive climate change Mars experienced in the
past.
"We know from three decades of
studying Mars that its surface was dramatically transformed by
water, but we don't know what happened to that water," said Jim
Crocker, vice president of Sensing and Exploration Systems at
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "The MAVEN mission will
provide definitive answers about Mars' climate history and an
understanding of what happened to the liquid water on the surface.
Our team is excited to be a part of this fascinating study."
The spacecraft is based on the flight-proven designs of the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft -
both designed and built by Lockheed Martin. MRO was launched in
August 2005 and Odyssey was launched in April 2001. Both spacecraft
are still performing science operations as they orbit the planet.
Lockheed Martin also conducts flight operations for both missions
for NASA.
"Lockheed Martin brings with it a tremendous wealth of
experience in planetary spacecraft, and in Mars spacecraft and
operations," said Jakosky. "Their MAVEN team is absolutely first
rate, and the mission concept we've put together reflects this. I
could not imagine trying to do this mission without their
involvement."
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