MAVEN arrives to Mars one month before Comet Siding Spring

MAVEN arrives to Mars one month before Comet Siding Spring

At 02:24 UTC today NASA's MAVEN spacecraft reached planet Mars and entered its orbit. MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars. It is expected to begin its primary mission in a

MAVEN on its way to study what went wrong on Mars

MAVEN on its way to study what went wrong on Mars

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission is scheduled for launch today, November 18, 2013. The two-hour launch window opens at 18:28 UTC. This will be the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere and what

The evolution of Mars – MAVEN ready for launch

The evolution of Mars – MAVEN ready for launch

Billions of years ago when the Red Planet was young, it appears to have had a thick atmosphere that was warm enough to support oceans of liquid water – a critical ingredient for life. The animation shows how the surface of Mars might have appeared during this

Mars atmosphere loss: neutral processes

Mars atmosphere loss: neutral processes

When you take a look at Mars, you probably wouldn't think that it looks like a nice place to live. It's dry, it's dusty, and there's practically no atmosphere. But some scientists think that Mars may have once looked like a much nicer place to live,

MAVEN gets magnetometers to study the Red planet's magnetic field

MAVEN gets magnetometers to study the Red planet's magnetic field

Could Mars have supported life? Many scientists think that long ago it had a denser atmosphere, cloudy skies that supported liquid water flowing over the surface. They propose the red planet lost its atmosphere due to sputtering as it eroded by