NASA's Mars orbiter shifts course to avoid collision

NASA's Maven spacecraft maneuvered Feb. 28 to avoid a “high probability” of colliding with the moon Phobos March 6. © NASA

NASA had a taste of sci-fi excitement this week as its Mars orbiter was forced to dodge one of the planet's small moons.

The US space agency fired up MAVEN’s engine on Thursday so that it would miss the Martian moon Phobos by 2.5 minutes.

This picture shows 'Phobos' which is one of 2 moons of Mars, the other is Deimos. © NASA

The spacecraft, which studies the red planet’s vanishing atmosphere, boosted up its speed to skirt by the potato-shaped moon safely.

The orbits of MAVEN and Phobos around Mars. © NASA

The new command has also made sure that MAVEN stays clear of other spacecraft orbiting Mars.

A graphical representation of the orbits of 5 of the current 6 spacecraft circling Mars. ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter arrived after this graphic was created. It resides in a circular low-Mars orbit of 250 miles (400 kilometers) inclined by 74 degrees. © NASA

MAVEN flies only 3,700 kilometers above the planet’s surface and sees Phobos pass by 3 times a day.

Evasive maneuvers like this are very rare, but controllers should always monitor such cases to avoid trouble.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku