Why in the News?
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has lost contact with its Mars orbiter Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN), which has been studying the Red Planet’s atmosphere for over a decade.
About MAVEN Mission
- Launch: by NASA
- Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida
- Mars orbit insertion: September 2014
- Mission type: Mars orbiter
- Primary objective: Study the loss of Mars atmosphere to space
Scientific Objectives
- Measure the thin upper atmosphere of Mars
- Study the ionosphere, which consists of charged particles
- Observe interaction of sunlight and solar wind with the Martian atmosphere
- Explain how Mars changed from a warm and wet planet to a cold and dry one
| [2016] Consider the following statements: The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO:
1. is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission. 2. made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit the Mars after USA. 3. made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit the Mars in its very first attempt. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 |
