NASA MAVEN: Instrument delivered to study Martian atmosphere

NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission has reached its next stage, with the delivery of a remote sensor instrument to the company assembling the spacecraft, Lockheed Martin.

The Remote Sensing package will help scientists find clues as to how Mars lost its atmosphere.

The instrument, which was designed and is being built by the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (CU/LASP) under a NASA contract, will now be integrated into the spacecraft.

"Three of the big milestones in an instrument builder's life are the day you get selected to fly on a mission, the day you deliver the instrument to the spacecraft to get ready for launch, and the day that it gets where it's going and data starts flowing back from space," said Mark Lankton, Remote Sensing package program manager from CU/LASP.

The delivery is important because it means the team are shifting from assembling the basic spacecraft to focusing on getting the science instruments installed.

Bruce Jakosky, professor of geological sciences and associate director of science at CU’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator from CU/LASP adds "This is a major step toward getting us to launch and then getting the science return from the mission."