Just as hundreds of thousands of people protested political inaction on climate change on Earth, a satellite swung into orbit that should help explain why climate change happened -- on Mars.
NASA's MAVEN satellite, en route to Mars for the last 10 months, finally arrived in orbit around the Red Planet around 10:40pm ET Sunday night. This followed a tense 33-minute thruster burn as the satellite aimed to slow its speed down enough for Martian gravity to take over. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory was understandably thrilled.
The team is seen celebrating @MAVEN2Mars' insertion around #Mars tonight @LockheedMartin mission control pic.twitter.com/I0qar0o0la— NASA (@NASA) September 22, 2014
#MAVEN’s engine burn was 34 minutes, 26 seconds - 11 seconds more than nominal. In other words, “we nailed it.” #NASASocial— Daniel Wein (@danielwein) September 22, 2014
Looks like the engines have completed the burn and @MAVEN2Mars is in orbit! Navigation reports nominal cutoff and MAVEN in orbit!!!!— Bobak Ferdowsi (@tweetsoutloud) September 22, 2014
MAVEN stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, but you'd be better off calling this satellite a climate detective. Its mission is to help us figure out how Mars lost all its water millions of years ago, back when the planet looked a lot like Earth. Mars has almost no air pressure, which is necessary to keep liquid water from dissipating into space.
Thus far MAVEN is alone, but it should have a friend on Tuesday -- an Indian satellite called the Mars Orbiter Mission, which is on its way to study Martian methane (another clue to the climate mystery).
And of course, there are one or two Earth-born companions still roaming the Martian surface. Delightfully, they're tweeting at each other.
Hello @MarsCuriosity and @MarsRovers! #MAVEN is looking over you. (In #Spirit) pic.twitter.com/o5rCu6cE30— NASA's MAVEN Mission (@MAVEN2Mars) September 22, 2014
I'm rolling out the red carpet on the Red Planet for the newest Mars orbiter. Welcome, @MAVEN2Mars! pic.twitter.com/y6Rdw91sew— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) September 22, 2014