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Spacecraft · evidence and sources

MAVEN

MAVEN studies how Mars lost its atmosphere to space, orbiting the planet on an elliptical path since 2014.

Kepler elements Orbit basis, the same label the app shows on the selection card.

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Every aspect, with its origin

One record per aspect. The origin says what kind of thing each value is; the source says where it came from; the limit says what it cannot tell you.

ObservedCatalogComputedReconstructedIllustrativeUndocumented
Orbit Computed

Two-body orbit from published elements

MAVEN is placed by solving a Keplerian orbit around mars at the simulation time (a = 6,740 km, e = 0.47, period 0.2 d). Shown from 2014-09-22 onward.

Epoch2014-09-22T00:00:00Z
MethodTwo-body propagation of the stored elements by the shared orbit service; no perturbations.
LimitA two-body orbit ignores perturbations; positions drift from the true ephemeris away from the element epoch.
Physical data Catalog

Bulk properties

MAVEN: mass 2.454 × 10^3 kg. These values are bundled with the object record and drive the rendered size.

Appearance Reconstructed

Close-up hull model

The close-up shows a published 3D model scaled to 11 m deployed solar-array span. Distributed through NASA 3D Resources; original mission-agency credit applies.

SourceNASA 3D Resources · record maven
MethodSpace Time normalises the source model to the published deployed dimension.
LimitSource-asset presentation pose; time-dependent flight attitude is not modeled.
Description Undocumented

Description and facts

The short description and the fact list are written by the Space Time authors for orientation. They are not quoted from a catalog field and carry no citation of their own.

SourceSpace Time editorial text
LimitBackground reading is linked under Further reading; it is not the source of the displayed numbers.

What is not measured

  • Appearance: a reconstruction from measurements, not a direct observation. Close-up hull model. Source-asset presentation pose; time-dependent flight attitude is not modeled.

Not yet documented

  • Description: Background reading is linked under Further reading; it is not the source of the displayed numbers.

Sources cited

Further reading

Wikipedia: MAVEN (background only; not the source of the displayed numbers)

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