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Science Team

Science Team

The MAVEN mission is part of NASA’s Mars Scout Program, funded by NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Project Leadership

Project leadership for the MAVEN mission is provided by members of the University of Colorado Boulder/Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), the University of California, Berkeley/Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL), and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

  • Shannon Curry, Principal Investigator (SSL)
  • David Mitchell – Deputy PI (SSL)
  • Gina DiBraccio – Deputy PI / Project Scientist (GSFC)
  • Richard Burns -Project Manager (GSFC)
  • Dave Brain – Science Advisory Head (LASP)

Instrument and Science Team

The Particles and Fields Package (P&F), built by SSL with support from LASP and GSFC, contains six instruments that characterize the solar wind and the ionosphere of Mars. The Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), in Toulouse, France, provided a sensor for the SWEA instrument.

  • Dave Mitchell, SWEA Instrument Lead (SSL)
  • Jasper Halekas, SWIA Instrument Lead (University of Iowa)
  • Jim McFadden, STATIC Instrument Lead (SSL)
  • Davin Larson, SEP Instrument Lead (SSL)
  • Laila Andersson, LPW Instrument Lead (LASP)
  • Frank Eparvier, EUVM Instrument Lead (LASP)
  • Jared Espley, MAG Instrument Lead (LASP)

The Remote Sensing Package, built by LASP, determines the global characteristics of Mars’ upper atmosphere and ionosphere.

  • Nick Schneider, IUVS Instrument Lead (LASP)

The Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS), provided by GFSC, measures the composition and isotopes of neutral ions.

  • Mehdi Benna, NGIMS Instrument Lead (GFSC)

The Radio Occultation Science Experiment (ROSE), determines the vertical structure of plasma in the ionosphere and identifies the density, altitude, and width of the ionospheric density peak.

  • Paul Withers, ROSE Lead (Boston University)

Atmospheric Advisory Group

  • Richard Zurek, Lead (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
  • Bob Tolson (National Institute of Aerospace)
  • Darren Baird (NASA Johnson Space Center)
  • Stephen Bougher (University of Michigan)
MAVEN team at Goddard Space Flight Center for Critical Design Review
The MAVEN team at the Critical Design Review in July 2011. Several hundred additional scientists, engineers, and support personnel are contributing to the success of MAVEN, but were not present at the review. (Courtesy MAVEN)