Everyone is invited to attend a watch party at the 听on Sunday, Sept. 21, when NASA鈥檚 MAVEN spacecraft, designed to understand past climate change on Mars, inserts itself into orbit after a 10-month journey to the planet.听CU-麻豆影院 is leading NASA鈥檚 Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN mission.听
The orbital insertion, the most important maneuver of the mission, will involve firing six thruster engines to shed velocity from the spacecraft, allowing it to be captured into Mars orbit. Televised by NASA, the event will be shown at the LASP Space Technology Building on the East Campus. The event is free and open to the public, although seating will be limited. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and there is free parking. The orbit insertion, expected to last 34 minutes, will begin at 7:50 p.m. and end at 8:24 p.m.
From 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. there will be brief presentations by four LASP researchers on the mission: MAVEN Remote Sensing Package Manager Mark Lankton; MAVEN Extreme Ultraviolet Sensor Lead Scientist Frank Eparvier; MAVEN Science Data Management and Co-Investigator David Brain; and MAVEN Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph team member Mike Chaffin.
The primary goal of NASA鈥檚 MAVEN mission is to understand how the climate changed from a warm, wet and potentially habitable environment for life several billion years ago to the cold, dry and inhospitable planet observed today, according to CU-麻豆影院 Professor Bruce Jakosky, principal investigator on the mission.
In addition, there will be a watch party at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science at 7 p.m. on Sept. 21 regarding the MAVEN orbit insertion. The program will include live NASA TV coverage and a science panel hosted by museum Curator of Planetary Science Steve Lee and which will involve CU-麻豆影院 MAVEN science team member Justin Deighan as well as representatives from Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, which is leading MAVEN mission operations, and United Launch Alliance in Centennial, which provided the launch vehicle.
For directions to LASP鈥檚 Space Technology Building located at 1234 Innovation Dr. in 麻豆影院 visit听.
Admission to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science MAVEN event is $8 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Tickets for the event, to be held in Ricketson Auditorium, are available at听听or by calling 303-370-6000 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.