This image shows an artist concept of NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)<\/p>\n
Provided by Nancy Neal Jones, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center <\/p>\n
NASAS Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution has completed the first of five deep-dip maneuvers designed to gather measurements closer to the lower end of the Martian upper atmosphere. <\/p>\n
During normal science mapping, we make measurements between an altitude of about 150 km and 6,200 km (93 miles and 3,853 miles) above the surface, said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator at the University of Colorados Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder. During the deep-dip campaigns, we lower the lowest altitude in the orbit, known as periapsis, to about 125 km (78 miles) which allows us to take measurements throughout the entire upper atmosphere. <\/p>\n
The 25 km (16 miles) altitude difference may not seem like much, but it allows scientists to make measurements down to the top of the lower atmosphere. At these lower altitudes, the atmospheric densities are more than ten times what they are at 150 km (93 miles). <\/p>\n
We are interested in the connections that run from the lower atmosphere to the upper atmosphere and then to escape to space, said Jakosky. We are measuring all of the relevant regions and the connections between them. <\/p>\n
[Related story: NASA's MAVEN now is Mars' orbit] <\/p>\n
The first deep dip campaign ran from Feb. 10 to 18. The first three days of this campaign were used to lower the periapsis. Each of the five campaigns lasts for five days allowing the spacecraft to observe for roughly 20 orbits. Since the planet rotates under the spacecraft, the 20 orbits allow sampling of different longitudes spaced around the planet, providing close to global coverage. <\/p>\n
This months deep dip maneuvers began when team engineers fired the rocket motors in three separate burns to lower the periapsis. The engineers did not want to do one big burn, to ensure that they didnt end up too deep in the atmosphere. So, they walked the spacecraft down gently in several smaller steps. <\/p>\n
Although we changed the altitude of the spacecraft, we actually aimed at a certain atmospheric density, said Jakosky. We wanted to go as deep as we can without putting the spacecraft or instruments at risk. <\/p>\n
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MAVEN spacecraft completes first Martian deep dip campaign<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This image shows an artist concept of NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) Provided by Nancy Neal Jones, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center NASAS Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution has completed the first of five deep-dip maneuvers designed to gather measurements closer to the lower end of the Martian upper atmosphere. During normal science mapping, we make measurements between an altitude of about 150 km and 6,200 km (93 miles and 3,853 miles) above the surface, said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator at the University of Colorados Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder. Continue reading