A NASA spacecraft hoping to unlock the secrets of life on early Mars finally entered orbit around the red planet Sunday.
The so-called MAVEN spacecraft, short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, is part of a year long, $671 million mission to probe the red planet's atmosphere and gain insight into what's causing, or caused, a shift in Mars' climate over billions of years. MAVEN will never touch the surface of Mars, but will stay in orbit instead, dipping as low as 78 miles above the planet while using its instruments to probe and study the relationship between the sun and the planet's upper and lower atmospheres.
Scientists believe that Mars was a much different place around four billion years ago. Back then, the surface of Mars was much warmer and wet, too--conditions similar to Earth, that could've possibly sustained life.
The difference between Mars four billion years ago and Mars now is largely attributed to the disappearance of the planet's atmosphere. Four billion years ago, a stronger atmosphere, complete with a magnetic field capable of deflecting solar storms, supported a carbon dioxide rich layer of air that trapped in heat and water vapor close to the surface of Mars, The New York Times reports.
But for now the team behind MAVEN will hang their hats on the successful insertion of the spacecraft into orbit around Mars.
No comments:
Post a Comment