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Spacecraft

Spacecraft

Lockheed Martin (LM), based in Littleton, Colorado, provided the MAVEN spacecraft, conducted assembly, test and launch operations (ATLO), and manages mission operations for MAVEN. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory navigates the spacecraft. The University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) provides science operations and data packaging. Lockheed Martin provides Flight Systems Management for MAVEN.

Click to access the full MAVEN spacecraft image gallery.

Spacecraft statistics

  • Length: 37.5 feet (11.43 meters) with solar panels deployed
  • Width: 90 inches (2.29 meters)
  • Height: 11.4 feet (3.47 meters)
  • High-gain antenna: 6.56 feet (2 meters) in diameter
  • Dry (unfueled) mass at launch: 1,784 pounds (809 kg)
  • Wet (fueled with hydrazine) mass at launch: 5,410 pounds (2,454 kg)
  • Power: More than 2,000 solar cells on four panels cover 129 square feet (12m2) and generate between 1,150 and 1,700 watts (depending on spacecraft’s position in Mars orbit); solar panels power two 55-amp-hour lithium ion batteries
  • Science payload: 143 pounds (65 kg) in eight instruments
  • Communications relay: 14 pounds (6.5 kg) Electra UHF communications package to provide data relay from rovers and landers on Mars back to Earth

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MAVEN_spacecraft_size comparisons

 

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