Launch commentary coverage, as well as prelaunch media briefings, will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
MAVEN is the second mission for NASA’s Mars Scout Program and will obtain critical measurements of the Martian upper atmosphere to help understand the climate change over the Red Planet’s history.
MAVEN is the first spacecraft devoted to exploring and understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. It will orbit the planet in an elliptical orbit that allows it to pass through and sample the entire upper atmosphere on every orbit. The spacecraft will investigate how the loss of Mars’ atmosphere to space determined the history of water on the surface.
MAVEN press kit
(2.2 MB PDF)
Launch Day Press Site Access
Monday, Nov. 18: Media will cover the MAVEN launch from Kennedy’s Press Site. Access will be through Gate 3 on State Road 405, east of the Kennedy’s visitor complex and through Gate 2 on State Road 3.
Kennedy News Center Hours
- Monday, Nov. 18: 5:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
NASA Television Launch Coverage
On Monday, Nov. 18, NASA TV coverage of the launch will begin at 11 a.m. EST and conclude after the MAVEN spacecraft has separated from the Atlas V, which occurs about 52 minutes after launch. Live launch coverage will be carried on all NASA Television channels.
For NASA Television downlink information, schedule information and streaming video, visit:
Audio only of the press conferences and the launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220 or -1240 or -1260 or -7135.
All of the briefings will be carried live on NASA Television with question and answer capability available from other NASA field centers. Call-in questions also will be taken by dialing 321-867-2468 no later than 15 minutes before the start of each briefing to establish a position in the queue.
On launch day, “mission audio,” the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 starting at 10:30 a.m. Launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard County.
NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage
Extensive prelaunch and launch day coverage of the liftoff of the MAVEN spacecraft aboard an Atlas V rocket will be available on NASA’s home page on the Internet at:
Live countdown coverage through NASA’s Launch Blog begins at 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 18. Coverage features live updates as countdown milestones occur, as well as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact Nancy Bray at 321-867-9112.
To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about the MAVEN mission, visit:
For more information on the MAVEN mission, visit:
https://lasp.colorado.edu/maven/
Recorded Status
Recorded status reports and updates to the media advisory on the MAVEN launch will be provided through the Kennedy media phone line starting Thursday, Nov. 14. The telephone number is 321-867-2525.
Wireless Capability
Wireless capability for news media is available at Kennedy’s Press Site.
Post-Launch News Conference
A post-launch news conference is targeted for approximately 2 ½ hours after launch. It will be held in the Kennedy Press Site TV Auditorium. Participants will include:
- David Mitchell, NASA MAVEN project manager, Goddard Space Flight Center
- Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder
A post-launch news release also will be issued when the state-of-health of the MAVEN spacecraft is known. Spokespersons also will be available at the Press Site to answer questions.
MAVEN Education and Public Outreach Events
Surrounding the MAVEN launch, our Education and Public Outreach team, led out of the University of Colorado Boulder, is offering workshops for educators and events to involve the public in the excitement of MAVEN and Mars exploration
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Monday, Nov. 18 (These events are being broadcast online only.)
- Imagine Mars Through Native Eyes webcast to Native American schools—12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. from the Kennedy Space Center Education Resource Center’s Digital Learning Broadcast Studio
- MAVEN Educator Ambassadors webcast—4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Space Center Education Resource Center’s Digital Learning Broadcast Studio
Both the Imagine Mars and MAVEN Educator Ambassadors webcasts can be viewed here: http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/dln/webcast/webcast.html or on Ustream at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-dlinfo
Social Media
Join the conversation and follow the MAVEN mission online by using the hashtag #MAVEN on Twitter and Facebook:
https://twitter.com/MAVEN2Mars
https://www.facebook.com/MAVEN2Mars
The NASA Kennedy Twitter and Facebook accounts will continuously be updated throughout the launch countdown:
http://www.twitter.com/NASAKennedy
https://www.facebook.com/NASAKennedy
Throughout the launch countdown, the NASA LSP Twitter and Facebook accounts will be continuously updated:
http://www.twitter.com/NASA_LSP
https://www.facebook.com/NASALSP
NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colo., is the provider of the Atlas V launch service. Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colo., built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations after launch.
MAVEN’s principal investigator is based at the University of Colorado/LASP. The university provided science instruments and leads science operations, as well as education and public outreach, for the mission.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. manages the project and provided two of the science instruments for the mission. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The University of California at Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory provided science instruments for the mission. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., provides navigation support, Deep Space Network support, and Electra telecommunications relay hardware and operations.
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