MAVEN waits for MOM in Mars’ orbit
Sep 23, 2014, 01.23AM IST
MUMBAI: On a day India test-fired the engine of its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft, Nasa's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) spacecraft entered the Martian orbit. It will be a rare camaraderie in space when MOM and MAVEN go around the red planet and scientists of India and US share data from the two missions.
MAVEN, which could pave the way for an
Indo-US collaboration in Martian scientific research successfully entered Mars'orbit at about 8am IST on Monday after a 10-month journey covering 442 million miles.
According to Nasa, MAVEN will study the red planet's upper atmosphere as never done before. "MAVEN is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars," it said. On Wednesday, MOM will enter the Martian orbit. This is the first time in the history of Mars exploration that two spacecraft of two countries are reaching the red planet's orbit in quick succession.
At a media interaction post insertion on Monday, MAVEN principal investigator Bruce Jakosky said: "We wish a successful Mars orbit insertion for the Mars Orbiter Mission." Nasa's planetary science director Jim Green said: "Nasa is quite interested in cooperating and correlating data sets. As both spacecraft get into orbit and the scientists understand their data, these opportunities will open up," he said.
At a media briefing on September 17, Green said that
discussions have been initiated between Isro and Nasa regarding scientific collaboration relating to the MOM and MAVEN missions. A post on MAVEN's official Facebook page states that "MOM and MAVEN share some science objectives and carry some similar instrumentation. As such there are plans to share data regarding Mars' upper atmosphere wherever it is appropriate."
Isro and Nasa are expected to compare and analyse data mainly about the Martian atmosphere which is generated by MAVEN and MOM. One of the instruments on MOM known as the Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) will study the upper atmosphere of Mars, and so also will MAVEN. Anil Bhardwaj principal investigator of MENCA said in a report that "study of the composition and distribution of the Martian exosphere by MENCA may help in understanding the thermal escape of the Martian atmosphere." This is also one of the primary objectives of the MAVEN mission.
Scientists of Isro and Nasa are working on a mechanism to collaborate on setting up a joint Mars working group under the auspices of the US State Department's US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group. John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of the NASA Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington said: "Maven will complement Nasa's other Martian robotic explorers—and those of our partners around the globe—to answer some fundamental questions about Mars and life beyond Earth."
Following orbit insertion, MAVEN will begin a six-week commissioning phase that includes maneuvering into its final science orbit and testing the instruments and science-mapping commands. MAVEN then will begin its one Earth-year primary mission, taking measurements of the composition, structure and escape of gases in Mars' upper atmosphere and its interaction with the sun and solar wind.
The primary mission includes five "deep-dip" campaigns, in which MAVEN's periapsis, or lowest orbit altitude, will be lowered from 93 miles (150km) to about 77 miles (125km). These measurements will provide information down to where the upper and lower atmospheres meet, giving scientists a full profile of the upper tier.
MAVEN waits for MOM in Mars’ orbit - The Times of India
Yep definitely cooperation and sharing between ISRO and NASA before MARS missions.