NASA's New Mars Orbiter MAVEN to be Launched on Nov.18

NASA's new Mars orbiter MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutionN) will be launched on Monday, Nov.18, to solving the mystery behind the atmospheric changes on the Red planet.

 The launch will take place from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41, joining the league of other spacecrafts already surveying Mars. A news release confirms it to be a two hour launch, which will commence at 1:28 p.m. EST.

This NASA mission is worth $671 million and is being carried out with the help of the University of Colorado Boulder.

MAVEN will delve into the thin upper Martian atmosphere and try to figure out what led to the changes in the atmosphere of Mars and how it affected the availability of water on the Planet. Scientists believe the Martian atmosphere was denser than Earth's billions of years ago and are curious to find out why Mars' atmosphere ended up unlike Earth's present atmosphere.

"Planetary scientists have been waiting decades for the right instruments to answer the right questions regarding how the atmosphere of Mars has changed over time," said Daniel Baker, Director at Laboratory For Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), according to a statement. "This mission has been absolutely exemplary in terms of staying on time and on budget, and we expect the data gathered by MAVEN are going to help rewrite the textbooks about the history of Mars."

The spacecraft will orbit in an elliptical orbit of 6,200 km by 150 km over the Martian surface.

"MAVEN is slated to begin orbiting Mars in September 2014, and, after a one-month checkout period, will make measurements for one Earth year," said Prof. Bruce Jakosky.

"Hopes are high the mission will be extended, perhaps for up to a decade," Jakosky added.