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Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution

Artist's rendering of the MAVEN spacecraft bus
Names	MAVEN
Mission type	Mars orbiter
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	2013-063A
SATCAT no.	39378
Website	Official website
Mission duration	2 years (planned) 11 years, 1 month, 1 day (elapsed)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Launch mass	2,454 kg (5,410 lb)
Dry mass	809 kg (1,784 lb)
Payload mass	65 kg (143 lb)
Dimensions	2.3 m × 2.3 m × 2 m
Power	1135 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	18 November 2013, 18:28:00 UTC
Rocket	Atlas V 401 AV-038
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, SLC-41
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Areocentric
Periareon altitude	180 km (110 mi)
Apoareon altitude	4,500 km (2,800 mi)
Inclination	75°
Period	3.6 hours
Mars orbiter
Orbital insertion	22 September 2014, 02:24 UTC MSD 50025 08:07 AMT
Maven mission logo Mars Exploration Program← CuriosityInSight →

MAVEN is a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars to study the loss of that planet's atmospheric gases to space, providing insight into the history of the planet's climate and water. The name is an acronym for "Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution" while the word maven also denotes "a person who has special knowledge or experience; an expert". MAVEN was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on 18 November 2013 UTC and went into orbit around Mars on 22 September 2014 UTC. The mission is the first by NASA to study the Mars atmosphere. The probe is analyzing the planet's upper atmosphere and ionosphere to examine how and at what rate the solar wind is stripping away volatile compounds.

The principal investigator for the mission is Shannon Curry at the University of California, Berkeley. She took over from Bruce Jakosky of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, who proposed and led the mission until 2021. The project cost $582.5 million to build, launch, and operate through its two-year prime mission.

Pre-launch

Proposed in 2006, the mission was the second of NASA's Mars Scout Program, which had previously yielded Phoenix. It was selected for development for flight in 2008.

On 2 August 2013, the MAVEN spacecraft arrived at Kennedy Space Center, in Florida to begin launch preparations.

On 1 October 2013, only seven weeks before launch, a government shutdown caused suspension of work for two days and initially threatened to force a 26-month postponement of the mission. With the spacecraft nominally scheduled to launch on 18 November 2013, a delay beyond 7 December 2013 would have caused MAVEN to miss the launch window as Mars moved too far out of alignment with the Earth.

However, two days later, on 3 October 2013, a public announcement was made that NASA had deemed the 2013 MAVEN launch so essential to ensuring future communication with current NASA assets on Mars — the rovers Opportunity and Curiosity — that emergency funding was authorized to restart spacecraft processing in preparation for an on-time launch.

Objectives

Features on Mars that resemble dry riverbeds and the discovery of minerals that form in the presence of water indicate that Mars once had a dense enough atmosphere and was warm enough for liquid water to flow on the surface. However, that thick atmosphere was somehow lost to space. Scientists suspect that over millions of years, Mars lost 99% of its atmosphere as the planet's core cooled and its magnetic field decayed, allowing the solar wind to sweep away most of the water and volatile compounds that the atmosphere once contained.

The goal of MAVEN is to determine the history of the loss of atmospheric gases to space, providing answers about Martian climate evolution. By measuring the rate with which the atmosphere is currently escaping to space and gathering enough information about the relevant processes, scientists will be able to infer how the planet's atmosphere evolved over time. The MAVEN mission's primary scientific objectives are:

• Measure the composition and structure of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere today, and determine the processes responsible for controlling them
• Measure the rate of loss of gas from the top of the atmosphere to space, and determine the processes responsible for controlling them
• Determine properties and characteristics that will allow us to extrapolate backwards in time to determine the integrated loss to space over the four-billion-year history recorded in the geological record.

Timeline

MAVEN launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) on 18 November 2013, using an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle. It reached Mars on 22 September 2014, and was inserted into an elliptic orbit approximately 6,200 km (3,900 mi) by 150 km (93 mi) above the planet's surface.

In October 2014, as the spacecraft was being fine-tuned to start its primary science mission, the comet Siding Spring was also performing a close flyby of Mars. The researchers had to maneuver the craft to mitigate harmful effects of the comet, but while doing so, were able to observe the comet and perform measurements on the composition of expelled gases and dust.

On 16 November 2014, investigators completed MAVEN's commissioning activities and began its primary science mission, scheduled to last one year. During that time, MAVEN had observed a nearby comet, measured how volatile gases are swept away by solar wind, and performed four "deep dips" down to the border of the upper and lower atmospheres to better characterize the planet's entire upper atmosphere. In June 2015, the science phase was extended through September 2016, allowing MAVEN to observe the Martian atmosphere through the entirety of the planet's seasons.

On 3 October 2016, MAVEN completed one full Martian year of scientific observations. It had been approved for an additional 2-year extended mission through September 2018. All spacecraft systems were still operating as expected.

In March 2017, MAVEN's investigators had to perform a previously unscheduled maneuver to avoid colliding with Phobos the following week.

On 5 April 2019, the navigation team completed a two-month aerobraking maneuver to lower MAVEN's orbit and enable it to better serve as a communications relay for current landers as well as the rover Perseverance. This new elliptic orbit is approximately 4,500 km (2,800 mi) by 130 km (81 mi). With 6.6 orbits per Earth day, the lower orbit allows more frequent communication with rovers.

As of September 2020, the spacecraft is continuing its science mission as well, with all instruments still operating and with enough fuel to last at least until 2030.

On August 31, 2021, Shannon Curry became the Principal Investigator of the mission.

NASA became aware of failures in the MAVEN's inertia measurement units (IMU) in late 2021, necessary for the probe to maintain its orbit; having already moved from the main IMU to the backup one in 2017, they saw the backup ones showing signs of failure. In February 2022, both IMUs had appeared to have lost the ability to perform its measurement properly. After doing a heartbeat termination to restore the use of the backup IMU, NASA engineers set to reprogram MAVEN to use an "all stellar" mode using star positions to maintain its altitude, eliminating the reliance on the IMUs. This was put into place in April 2022 and completed by May 28, 2022, but during this period, MAVEN could not be used for scientific observations or to relay communications to Earth from the rovers Curiosity and Perseverance and the Insight lander. Reduced communication was handled by other Mars orbiters.

Spacecraft overview

MAVEN was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space Systems. Its design is based on those of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and 2001 Mars Odyssey. The orbiter has a cubical shape of about 2.3 m × 2.3 m × 2 m (7 ft 7 in × 7 ft 7 in × 6 ft 7 in) high, with two solar arrays that hold the magnetometers on both ends. The total length is 11.4 m (37 ft).

Relay telecommunications

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory provided an Electra ultra high frequency (UHF) relay radio payload which has a data return rate of up to 2048 kbit/s. The highly elliptical orbit of the MAVEN spacecraft may limit its usefulness as a relay for operating landers on the surface, although the long view periods of MAVEN's orbit have afforded some of the largest relay data returns to date of any Mars orbiter. During the mission's first year of operations at Mars — the primary science phase — MAVEN served as a backup relay orbiter. In the extended mission period of up to ten years, MAVEN will provide UHF relay service for present and future Mars rovers and landers.

Scientific instruments

The University of Colorado Boulder, University of California, Berkeley, and Goddard Space Flight Center each built a suite of instruments for the spacecraft, and they include:

Built by the University of California, Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory:

• Solar Wind Electron Analyzer (SWEA) – measures solar wind and ionosphere electrons. The goals of SWEA with respect to MAVEN are to deduce magneto-plasma topology in and above the ionosphere, and to measure atmospheric electron impact ionization effects.
• Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA) – measures solar wind and magnetosheath ion density and velocity. The SWIA therefore characterizes the nature of solar wind interactions within the upper atmosphere.
• SupraThermal And Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) – measures thermal ions to moderate-energy escaping ions. This provides information on the current ion escape rates from the atmosphere and how rates change during various atmospheric events.
• Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) – determines the impact of SEPs on the upper atmosphere. In context with the rest of this suite, it evaluates how SEP events affect upper atmospheric structure, temperature, dynamics and escape rates.

Built by the University of Colorado Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics:

• Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrometer (IUVS) – measures global characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. The IUVS has separate far-UV and mid-UV channels, a high resolution mode to distinguish deuterium from hydrogen, optimization for airglow studies, and capabilities that allow complete mapping and nearly continuous operation.
• Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW) – determines ionosphere properties and wave heating of escaping ions and solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) input to atmosphere. This instrument provides better characterization of the basic state of the ionosphere and can evaluate the effects of the solar wind on the ionosphere.

Built by Goddard Space Flight Center:

• Magnetometer (MAG) – measures interplanetary solar wind and ionosphere magnetic fields.
• Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) – measures the composition and isotopes of neutral gases and ions. This instrument evaluates how the lower atmosphere can affect higher altitudes while also better characterizing the structure of the upper atmosphere from the homopause to the exobase.

SWEA, SWIA, STATIC, SEP, LPW, and MAG are part of the Particles and Fields instrument suite, IUVS is the Remote Sensing instrument suite, and NGIMS is its own eponymous suite.

Cost

MAVEN cost US$582.5 million to build, launch, and operate for its prime mission, nearly US$100 million less than originally estimated. Of this total, US$366.8 million was for development, US$187 million for launch services, and US$35 million was for the 2-year prime mission. On average, NASA spends US$20 million annually on MAVEN's extended operations.

Results

Atmospheric loss

Mars loses water into its thin atmosphere by evaporation. There, solar radiation can split the water molecules into their components, hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen, as the lightest element, then tends to rise far up to the highest levels of the Martian atmosphere, where several processes can strip it away into space, to be forever lost to the planet. This loss was thought to proceed at a fairly constant rate, but MAVEN's observations of Mars's atmospheric hydrogen through a full Martian year (almost two Earth years) show that the escape rate is highest when Mars's orbit brings it closest to the Sun, and only one-tenth as great when it is at its farthest.

On 5 November 2015, NASA announced that data from MAVEN shows that the deterioration of Mars's atmosphere increases significantly during solar storms. That loss of atmosphere to space likely played a key role in Mars's gradual shift from its carbon dioxide–dominated atmosphere – which had kept Mars relatively warm and allowed the planet to support liquid surface water – to the cold, arid planet seen today. This shift took place between about 4.2 and 3.7 billion years ago. Atmospheric loss was especially notable during an interplanetary coronal mass ejection in March 2015.

Different types of aurora

In 2014, MAVEN researchers detected widespread aurora throughout the planet, even close to the equator. Given the localized magnetic fields on Mars (as opposed to Earth's global magnetic field), aurora appear to form and distribute in different ways on Mars, creating what scientists call diffuse aurora. Researchers determined that the source of the particles causing the aurorae were a huge surge of electrons originating from the Sun. These highly energetic particles were able to penetrate far deeper into Mars's atmosphere than they would have on Earth, creating aurora much closer to the surface of the planet (~60 km as opposed to 100–500 km on Earth).

Scientists also discovered proton aurora, different from the so-called typical aurora which is produced by electrons. Proton aurora were previously only detected on Earth.

Interaction with a comet

The fortuitous arrival of MAVEN just before a flyby of the comet Siding Spring gave researchers a unique opportunity to observe both the comet itself as well as its interactions with the Martian atmosphere. The spacecraft's IUVS instrument detected intense ultraviolet emissions from magnesium and iron ions, a result from the comet's meteor shower, which were much stronger than anything ever detected on Earth. The NGIMS instrument was able to directly sample dust from this Oort Cloud comet, detecting at least eight different types of metal ions.

Detection of metal ions

In 2017, results were published detailing the detection of metal ions in Mars's ionosphere. This is the first time metal ions have been detected in any planet's atmosphere other than Earth's. It was also noted that these ions behave and are distributed differently in the atmosphere of Mars given that the red planet has a much weaker magnetic field than our own.

Impacts on future exploration

In September 2017, NASA reported a temporary doubling of radiation levels on the surface of Mars, as well as an aurora 25 times brighter than any observed earlier. This occurred due to a massive, and unexpected, solar storm. The observation provided insight into how changes in radiation levels might impact the planet's habitability, helping NASA researchers understand how to predict as well as mitigate effects on future human Mars explorers.

See also

• Atmosphere of Mars – Layer of gases surrounding the planet Mars
• Trace Gas Orbiter – Mars orbiter, part of ExoMars programme
• Exploration of Mars
• List of Mars orbiters – List of spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars
• List of missions to Mars
• Mars Express – European orbiter mission to Mars (2003–present)
• Mars Global Surveyor – NASA orbiter mission to Mars (1996–2006)
• Mars MetNet – Cancelled science mission to Mars featuring semi-hard landing strategy
• Mars Exploration Program – Uncrewed spaceflight program by NASA
• Mars Orbiter Mission – Indian orbiter mission to Mars (2013–2022)
• New Frontiers program – Series of space exploration missions being conducted by NASA
• Sandra Cauffman – Costa Rican physicist and electrical engineer
• Space weather – Branch of space physics and aeronomy

References

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External links

• MAVEN – NASA
• MAVEN – JPL
• MAVEN – University of Colorado Boulder
• Integration of MAVEN Propellant Tank – NASA
• SpaceflightNow MAVEN mission status center
• Released results from MAVEN

v t e Spacecraft missions to Mars
List of missions to Mars List of Mars orbiters List of artificial objects on Mars
Active	Flybys Psyche (2023, flyby in 2026) Hera (2024, flyby in 2025) Europa Clipper (2024, flyby in 2025) Orbiters 2001 Mars Odyssey Mars Express Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter timeline MAVEN ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Hope Tianwen-1 orbiter Rovers Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory timeline Perseverance Mars 2020 timeline
Past	Flybys Mars 1 Mariner 4 Zond 2 Mariner 6 and 7 Mars 6 Mars 7 Rosetta Dawn Mars Cube One Orbiters Mars 2 Mars 3 Mariner 9 Mars 4 Mars 5 Viking program Viking 1 Viking 2 Phobos program Phobos 1 Phobos 2 Mars Observer Mars Global Surveyor Nozomi Mars Climate Orbiter Mangalyaan Landers Mars 2 Mars 3 Mars 6 Mars 7 Viking 1 Viking 2 Mars Pathfinder Mars Polar Lander / Deep Space 2 Beagle 2 Phoenix ExoMars Schiaparelli InSight Tianwen-1 lander Rovers PrOP-M Sojourner Mars Exploration Rover Spirit timeline Opportunity timeline Zhurong Aircraft Ingenuity helicopter flights Mars 2020
Failed launches Mars 1M No.1 1M No.2 2MV-4 No.1 2MV-3 No.1 Mariner 3 Mars 2M No.521 2M No.522 Mariner 8 Mars 3MS No.170 Mars 96 Fobos-Grunt / Yinghuo-1
Future	Planned EscaPADE (2025) Tera-hertz Explorer (TEREX) (mid 2020s) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) (2026) Mangalyaan-2 (2026) Tianwen-3 (2028) Rosalind Franklin (2028) MBR Explorer (2028, flyby in 2031) NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return Mars Sample Recovery Helicopters Kazachok Proposed MAGGIE SpaceX Mars program Mars-Grunt
Cancelled or not developed Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey Astrobiology Field Laboratory Beagle 3 Biological Oxidant and Life Detection DePhine Icebreaker Life Marsokhod Mars 4NM & 5NM Mars 5M (Mars-79) Mars-Aster Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (MAX-C) Mars Geyser Hopper Mars Exploration Ice Mapper Mars One Mars Micro Orbiter Mars Surveyor Lander Mars Telecommunications Orbiter MELOS rover MetNet NetLander Northern Light Next Mars Orbiter PADME Phootprint Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars (SCIM) Sky-Sailor SpaceX Red Dragon Vesta Voyager Mars
Exploration	Concepts Flyby Orbiter Landing Atmospheric entry Rover Aircraft Sample return Human mission Permanent settlement Colonization Terraforming Strategies Mars Scout Program Mars Exploration Program Mars Exploration Joint Initiative Mars Next Generation Advocacy The Mars Project The Case for Mars Inspiration Mars Mars Institute Mars Society Mars race
Missions are ordered by launch date. Sign indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned. indicates use of the planet as a gravity assist en route to another destination.

v t e 2013 in space
« 2012 2014 »
Space probe launches	Space probes LADEE (lunar orbiter; Sep 2013) Mars Orbiter Mission (Mars orbiter; Nov 2013) MAVEN (Mars orbiter; Nov 2013) Chang'e 3 / Yutu (mission to the Moon; Dec 2013) Space observatories IRIS (solar observation; Jun 2013) Hisaki (ultraviolet observation; Sep 2013) Gaia (astrometric observation; Dec 2013)
Impact events	Chelyabinsk meteor Chelyabinsk meteorite
Selected NEOs	Asteroid close approaches 2012 YQ1 367943 Duende 2013 EC 2013 ET (7888) 1993 UC (52760) 1998 ML14 (285263) 1998 QE2 (163364) 2002 OD20 (277475) 2005 WK4 2006 BL8 (471240) 2011 BT15 (511002) 2013 MZ5 2013 PJ10 2013 TV135 3361 Orpheus 2013 XY8 2013 YP139
Exoplanets	DENIS-P J082303.1−491201 b Gliese 504 b Gliese 667 e f g h? HD 95086 b HD 100546 b HD 106906 b blue color of HD 189733 b cloud map of Kepler-7b Kepler-37 b c d Kepler-61b Kepler-62 b c d e f Kepler-65 b c d Kepler-68 b c d Kepler-69 b c Kepler-78b exomoon candidate MOA-2011-BLG-262Lb PSO J318.5−22 (rogue planet) ROXs 42Bb
Discoveries	Luhman 16 GRB 130427A Hippocamp 1E 2259+586 anti-glitch M60-UCD1 z8_GND_5296 Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall Water vapor plumes of Europa
Novae	SN UDS10Wil SN 2013ej V339 Delphini SN 2013fs Nova Centauri 2013
Comets	C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) C/2012 S4 (PANSTARRS) C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) Comet ISON C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) P/2013 P5 (PanSTARRS)
Space exploration	Herschel Space Observatory retirement (Jun 2013) Cassini–Huygens (The Day the Earth Smiled; Jul 2013) Voyager 1 (enters interstellar space; Sep 2013)
Outer space portal Category:2012 in outer space — Category:2013 in outer space — Category:2014 in outer space

v t e 2014 in space
« 2013 2015 »
Space probe launches	Chang'e 5-T1 (mission to the Moon; Oct 2014) Hayabusa2 / PROCYON (asteroid sample-return mission; Dec 2014)
Impact events	2014 AA 2014 Ontario fireball
Selected NEOs	Asteroid close approaches 2000 EM26 (163132) 2002 CU11 (388188) 2006 DP14 2007 VK184 (410777) 2009 FD 2009 RR (529366) 2009 WM1 2014 AF5 2014 DX110 2014 EC 2014 HQ124 2014 LY21 2014 OO6 2014 OL339 2014 RC 2014 SC324 2014 XL7
Exoplanets	51 Eridani b rotation of Beta Pictoris b Gliese 15 Ab Gliese 180 c Gliese 682 c Gliese 832 c GU Piscium b HIP 116454 b Kapteyn b Kepler-93b Kepler-186f Kepler-296 e f Kepler-298d Kepler-419 b c Kepler-421b WASP-104b
Discoveries	SMSS J0313−6708 Rings of Chariklo 2012 VP113 (announced) (532037) 2013 FY27 (announced) 486958 Arrokoth (2014 MU69) ULAS J0015+01 Laniakea Supercluster
Novae	SN 2014J iPTF14hls
Comets	C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) C/2014 E2 (Jacques) C/2013 UQ4 (Catalina) C/2012 K1 (PANSTARRS) C/2013 V5 (Oukaimeden) C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) C/2014 Q1 (PanSTARRS) C/2014 Q3 (Borisov) C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) 15P/Finlay
Space exploration	Kepler K2 mission extension (May) Rosetta/Philae (orbits/landing 67P; Aug/Nov) MAVEN (Mars orbit insertion; Sep) Mars Orbiter Mission (Mars orbit insertion; Sep) Dawn (approaches Ceres; Sep 2014 / Mar 2015) Venus Express (Venus mission ends; Dec)
Outer space portal Category:2013 in outer space — Category:2014 in outer space — Category:2015 in outer space

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• 2013 in the United States
• Mars Exploration Program
• Satellites orbiting Mars
• Lockheed Martin satellites and probes
• Mars Scout Program
• Missions to Mars
• NASA space probes
• Space probes launched in 2013
• Geography of Mars