NASA has had its fair share of robots, or rovers, sent over to the Red Planet in the past, and it does not look as though the facility is about to slow down in its efforts anytime soon. In fact, NASA’s Maven spacecraft has reportedly arrived at Mars on late Sunday after completing its 442 million mile journey which kicked off close to one year ago.
The NASA Maven spacecraft fired its brakes, as it made its way into the orbit around the Red Planet with success. Maven’s chief investigator, Bruce Jakosky of the University of Colorado, shared, “I think my heart’s about ready to start again. All I can say at this point is, ‘We’re in orbit at Mars, guys!'”
That is but just the beginning for the Maven spacecraft whose mission cost a whopping $671 million in total, and the main aim of the Maven? To actually study Mars’ upper atmosphere. The next half a dozen weeks will see Colorado-based flight controllers actually perform adjustments to Maven’s altitude as well as check on its science instruments. Do expect Maven to begin probing the upper atmosphere of Mars in early November, where the spacecraft will then conduct its observations from orbit. In other words, it was not built to touch down on the dusty planet’s surface.