Fiscal Crisis NASA to Proceed With Mars Mission Oct 4 Kenneth Chang NASA’s next Mars mission is getting to the launching pad, government shutdown or not. Launch preparations for the Maven spacecraft – short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution – had ground to a halt Tuesday along with almost all of NASA after Congress failed to provide money for the federal government to continue operating. The scientific mission – to study the planet’s thin atmosphere – was not among the few NASA activities deemed “essential.” But a lengthy shutdown could have caused Maven to miss the launch window. Mars and Earth would not come into proper alignment again until 2016, so NASA officials changed their minds. “We have already restarted spacecraft processing at Kennedy Space Center,” said Bruce Jakosky, the mission’s principal investigator. While the science is still not considered essential, officials concluded that the launch delay could jeopardize the missions of the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers currently on Mars. The two rovers currently relay their data through two aging orbiting NASA spacecraft, Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Mars Odyssey has been circling Mars for a dozen years; Reconnaissance Orbiter has been there since 2006. In 2016, the planetary alignment is not as good, so Maven would have to use up more of its fuel entering orbit. “This would have precluded having sufficient fuel for Maven to carry out its science mission and to operate as a relay for any significant time,” Dr. Jakosky said. There are currently no other orbiters planned for Mars. If two existing orbiters failed, that would severely limit the science that Curiosity and Opportunity could perform. The Mars Express spacecraft, operated by the European Space Agency, could possibly be pressed into service as a communication relay. “Launching Maven in 2013 protects the existing assets that are at Mars today,” Dr. Jakosky said. Maven is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida between Nov. 18 and Dec. 17.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 04:53:44 +0000
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