PI Blog
Planetary scientist Bruce Jakosky is the principal investigator for the MAVEN mission. (Courtesy Casey A. Cass, University of Colorado)
MAVEN Principal Investigator:
Dr. Bruce M. Jakosky
Professor of Geological Sciences.
Faculty Research Associate, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Director, Center for Astrobiology
Ph.D., 1982, California Institute of Technology
Research Interests:
Prof. Jakosky teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in both Earth and planetary geology and extraterrestrial life, including both the science and the societal and philosophical issues relating to the science. His research interests are in the geology of planetary surfaces, the evolution of the Martian atmosphere and climate, the potential for life on Mars and elsewhere, and the philosophical and societal issues in astrobiology. He has been involved with the Viking, Solar Mesosphere Explorer, Clementine, Mars Observer, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Science laboratory spacecraft missions, and is involved in planning future spacecraft missions. He heads up the University of Colorado’s team in the NASA Astrobiology Institute. He has published more than 100 papers in the refereed scientific literature. His book “The Search for Life on Other Planets” was published in 1998 by the Cambridge University Press, and “Science, Society and the Search for Life in the Universe” was published in 2006 by University of Arizona Press. He serves on numerous national advisory committees. He serves as Associate Director for Science in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado.
MAVEN is a Team Effort
Several people have asked me what role NASA HQ plays in the development of our mission and whether we on the MAVEN team have free reign to move forward as we see fit. As Principal Investigator of MAVEN, I led the development of the original concept, assembled the team, and led the effort to write the competitive proposals and reports prior to our selection. Having moved into development, I retain the overall authority and responsibility for the mission.
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Where is MAVEN in The Development Process?
With MAVEN having just recently passed its Critical Design Review and now having just over two years until launch, this is a good time to take stock of where we are in the process. We originally began putting the mission together in early 2004, knowing that NASA would have an open competition to propose Mars missions in the near future.
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Viking Lander 35th Anniversary
July 20 was the 35th anniversary of the Viking I lander’s successful landing on the Mars surface in 1976. That mission was a major turning point in our understanding of Mars, providing detailed geological, chemical, and geophysical data that fueled science analysis for more than two decades.
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What goes around comes around
Once we’re in orbit around Mars, the NGIMS instrument will release its cover. This “break-off cap” seals the inlet to the instrument, keeping it free from possible contamination prior to beginning the science mission. Once the cap is released, it no longer is connected to the MAVEN spacecraft and will be in its own independent orbit around Mars. Do we have to be concerned about the potential for the cap to come back and hit the spacecraft at some later time?
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Critical Design Review “Season”
I haven’t been able to write a blog entry in a while, but there’s been a lot going on with MAVEN. The instrument teams have built “engineering models” of each instrument; these allow the teams to test out the hardware and software now, and later to test procedures on the ground before doing them on the spacecraft after launch. They’ve done early interface tests with spacecraft test hardware that ensure that the instruments and the spacecraft can talk to and understand each other. Some flight components are being built early, for both the spacecraft and the instruments.
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