MAVEN Deep Dip
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- Visualizations by:
- Michael Lentz
- View full credits
NASA's MAVEN orbiter is the first spacecraft at Mars specifically designed to study the planet's upper atmosphere. Its goal is to determine how Mars lost its thick, early atmosphere to space, and in turn, its once hospitable climate.
MAVEN's elliptical orbit normally takes it from 6,200 km above Mars at its furthest point to about 150 km at its closest point, just above the upper atmosphere. However, during MAVEN's periodic "deep dip" campaigns, the spacecraft's orbit is lowered to only 125 km at closest approach, dipping into the upper atmosphere to study it in situ.
This animation depicts MAVEN maneuvering from its normal science orbit to the deep dip orbit and back. The animation is available for download in broadcast-quality HD and can be looped.
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
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Animator
- Michael Lentz (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]
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Scientist
- Bruce Jakosky (LASP)
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Producer
- Dan Gallagher (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Tapes
This visualization originally appeared on the following tapes:-
MAVEN Sci Early
(ID: 2015007)
Monday, March 16, 2015 at 4:00AM
Produced by - Dan Jacob
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Read moreVisualization depicting NASA's MAVEN satellite in an elliptical orbit around Mars. The horizon is scanned to determine atmospheric makeup. Blue sections of the atmosphere represent regions that have been scanned, and total coverage is achieved after roughly six orbits. This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, or MAVEN, is the first spacecraft specifically designed to study the Mars upper atmosphere. MAVEN’s goal is to understand how Mars lost its thick, early atmosphere to space, and how this in turn caused it to lose its once hospitable climate.MAVEN’s orbit gives it the most comprehensive view of the Martian atmosphere to date. Circling the red planet every 4.5 hours on an elliptical path, MAVEN passes close to the north and south poles at an inclination of 75 degrees. This allows MAVEN to gather a north-south swath of data with each pass. At the same time, Mars itself rotates eastward beneath MAVEN, giving the orbiter longitudinal coverage. The combination of MAVEN’s orbit and Mars’ daily rotation provides a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere every day.While previous Mars orbiters have peered down at the planet's surface, MAVEN is spending part of its time gazing at the stars, observing the Martian atmosphere through a series of stellar occultations. As Mars rolls beneath MAVEN, due to the spacecraft's own orbital motion, background stars rise and set behind the planet. Their light dims as it passes through the tenuous atmosphere, with specific gases absorbing specific wavelengths. MAVEN uses its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph to break apart this light and see which wavelengths are absorbed, allowing it to determine atmospheric composition at varying altitudes. ||
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Read morePrincipal Investigator Bruce Jakosky talks about MAVEN’s science observations at Mars.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here. || High above the thin Martian skies, NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft is carrying out a mission: determine how Mars lost its early atmosphere, and with it, its water. While previous Mars orbiters have peered down at the planet’s surface, MAVEN is spending part of its time gazing at the stars, looking for subtle changes in their color as they dip through the limb of Mars and set below the horizon. Such stellar occultations reveal what the atmosphere is made of, and how its composition varies with altitude. MAVEN’s observations are providing the most detailed picture of the Mars upper atmosphere to date, helping scientists understand how Mars turned from a warm and wet planet in its youth, into the forbidding desert that we see today. ||
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ID: 20223 Animation
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Read moreNASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission (MAVEN) is the first spacecraft specifically designed to study the upper atmosphere of Mars. MAVEN's goal is to determine how Mars lost its thick early atmosphere, and with it, its once hospitable climate.While previous Mars orbiters have peered down at the planet's surface, MAVEN is spending part of its time gazing at the stars, observing the Martian atmosphere through a series of stellar occultations. As Mars rolls beneath MAVEN, due to the spacecraft's own orbital motion, background stars rise and set behind the planet. Their light dims as it passes through the tenuous atmosphere, with specific gases absorbing specific wavelengths. MAVEN uses its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph to break apart this light and see which wavelengths are absorbed, allowing it to determine atmospheric composition at varying altitudes. ||
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