Here's what MAVEN looked like just before engineers and technicians fit the two-piece payload fairing around it. The spacecraft's solar arrays and instruments have been folded up. The fairing with MAVEN inside will be bolted to the top of an Atlas V rocket for launch at 1:28 p.m. EST on Nov. 18 from Cape Canaveral …
Each of MAVEN's solar array "wings" has a magnetometer on its tip to take readings of Martian magnetic field as the spacecraft orbits the Red Planet. The data is seen as crucial to evaluate the interaction between the solar wind from the sun and the thin atmosphere of Mars.
Biological Rhythms 48 Hour Experiment: Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano configured and donned an Actiwatch, attached electrodes to his chest, and will wear the Digital Walk Holter Electrocardiogram (ECG) for JAXA’s 48 hour Biological Rhythms experiment. This study examines the circadian variation of astronaut’s cardiac autonomic function during space flight. The research is expected to provide …
The launch team for MAVEN will have two hours to begin the flight on launch day. The window opens Nov. 18 at 1:28 p.m. EST and closes at 3:28 p.m. EST. The launch window is dictated by a number of factors, primarily the alignment of Earth and MAVEN's destination, Mars. The spacecraft will fly into …
35S Soyuz Relocation: Soyuz 35S and its crew consisting of Commander (CDR) Yurchikhin, Flight Engineer (FE)-5 Parmitano, and FE-6 Nyberg undocked from the ISS Mini-Research Module (MRM)-1 at 3:33 am CDT and docked to the Service Module (SM) Aft port at 3:54 am CDT. Prior to undocking, the crew performed leak checks on the vestibule …
Wonder what MAVEN would've seen on Mars if it had been in orbit there over Halloween? Read this for the answer.
Microbiome Investigation: Flight Engineer (FE)-6 Nyberg performed her return minus 14 (R-14) day session of the Microbiome investigation. This included taking surface samples in the ISS, performing body sample collections, inserting samples into cold stowage and answering survey questions. The Microbiome experiment investigates the impact of space travel on both the human immune system and …
Spinal Ultrasound Scans: Flight Engineer (FE)-3 Hopkins supporting as the operator conducted Flight Day 150 cervical and lumbosacral ultrasound scans of FE-5 Parmitano with remote guidance from the ground team. This investigation aims to characterize microgravity-associated spinal alterations during and after spaceflight using in-flight ultrasound. Results from this research will provide data to enhance crew health …
Hello from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the MAVEN spacecraft is undergoing careful preparations at the hands of engineers and technicians ahead of its launch to study the upper atmosphere and history of Mars. Adjacent to Kennedy, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, teams are readying a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket …
