MAVEN approached Mars orbit

After 2 days, 16 hours and 25 minutes around Mars, there will be more human presence. The MAVEN satellite approached the orbit.

For 10 months, the satellite traveled 711 million kilometers. Interestingly, in his footsteps goes the first Indian interplanetary spacecraft device Mangalyaan, which also successfully traveled all the way and will arrive in orbit two days after MAVEN.

The task of the American apparatus is to study the current state and evolution of the atmosphere. It should help to understand how Mars has evolved from a warm world with a lot of water into a cold lifeless planet.
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MAVEN launched on November 18, 2013 as part of a mission with a budget of $ 671 million.

The device of a cubic type is equipped with solar batteries and weighs about 2450 kg. It contains 8 devices, including a solar wind ion analyzer, a solar wind electron analyzer, a Langmuir wave sensor, a pair of induction magnetometers, a set of remote atmospheric studies, an ultraviolet spectrometer, a neutral and an ion mass spectrometer.



MAVEN - another NASA device, designed to search for traces of water. The probe will also measure the rate of loss of the atmosphere. But there is an unforeseen bonus - Comet Siding Spring, which was discovered only last year, will soon pass 132 thousand kilometers from Mars. Scientists were afraid that the comet's tail could cover MAVEN, but now they believe that the risk of this is minimal. The nucleus of the comet will pass by Mars on October 19, and the probe can explore the upper layers of the atmosphere before and after the passage of the comet, this is also interesting information.

Scientists believe that comets pass so close about Mars about once in a million years, so that can be called a great success, that just at this moment here is our probe for studying.



At the moment, three Earth satellites revolve around Mars: one European and two American. The surface is studied by two rovers. All these are necessary preparatory measures before the landing of a person and the creation of the first earth colony on other planets.