Post date: Nov 18, 2013 7:47:34 PM
NASA's Mars orbiter, or Maven, takes off to study the red planet.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 18, 2013) (NASA TV) - NASA's new Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, or MAVEN, took off at 1:28 p.m. EST/1828 GMT on Monday (November 18) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Its mission is to find out what happened to the oceans and rivers that once pooled on the surface of Mars.
The prime suspect is the sun, which has been peeling away the planet's atmosphere, molecule by molecule, for billions of years.Upon arrival in September 2014, MAVEN will put itself into orbit around Mars and begin scrutinizing the thin layer of gases that remains in its skies.
Specifically, MAVEN will look at how much and what type of radiation is coming from the sun and other cosmic sources and how that impacts gases in Mars' upper atmosphere.
Scientists have glimpsed the process from data collected by Europe's Mars Express orbiter and NASA's Curiosity rover, but never had the opportunity to profile the atmosphere and space environment around Mars simultaneously.