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The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission is part of NASA's Mars Scout program, funded by NASA Headquarters. Launched in Nov. 2013, the mission will explore the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions with the sun and solar wind.

Scientists will use MAVEN data to determine the role that loss of volatiles from the Mars atmosphere to space has played through time, giving insight into the history of Mars' atmosphere and climate, liquid water, and planetary habitability.  

The principal investigator is Shannon Curry, University of California, Berkeley.

MAVEN is the first Mars mission managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Download the MAVEN Mission Fact Sheet (pdf).

MAVEN's instrument suite will consist of eight sensors:

• Magnetometer
• Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer
• Langmuir Probe and Waves
• Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrometer
• Solar Wind Electron Analyzer
• Solar Wind Ion Analyzer
• Solar Energetic Particles
• SupraThermal And Thermal Ion Composition

Partners:

The University of Colorado will coordinate the science team and science operations and lead the education and public outreach activities.

NASA Goddard will also provide mission systems engineering, mission design, and safety and mission assurance.

Instruments on the spacecraft will be provided by the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and NASA Goddard, with the Centre d’Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, Toulouse, France, providing the sensor for one instrument.

Lockheed Martin Corp., based in Bethesda, Md., will develop the spacecraft, conduct assembly, test and launch operations, and provide mission operations at their Littleton, Colorado facility.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will provide navigation support, the Deep Space Network, and Electra telecommunications relay package.