Planets and Moons ID: 11636

Targeting Mars

Released on September 4, 2014

If you want to send a spacecraft from Earth to Mars, how would you get it there? You can't aim straight at the Red Planet, because it's moving around the Sun significantly slower than the Earth. Instead, you'll have to wait for up to 26 months for a launch window, then carefully aim at a moving target. In November, 2013, the controllers of NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft did just that. When MAVEN arrives, it will be the first spacecraft to study Mars's upper atmosphere in detail, helping scientists understand how Mars changed from a wet planet early in its history to the cold, dry world we see today.

For More Information

http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasas-maven-spacecraft-makes-final-preparations-for-mars

Credits

Walt Feimer (HTSI): Lead Animator
Michael Lentz (USRA): Animator
Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Animator
Ernie Wright (USRA): Animator
Chris Smith (HTSI): Animator
Dan Gallagher (USRA): Video Editor
Swarupa Nune (Vantage): Narrator
Dan Gallagher (USRA): Producer
Bruce Jakosky (LASP): Scientist
David Folta (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
Dan Gallagher (USRA): Writer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center