GREENBELT, Md., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- After a 10-month, 442-million-mile-long interplanetary journey, MAVEN, one of NASA's newest space probes, will take a bit of respite. No, MAVEN isn't being decommissioned. But on Sunday, the spacecraft will be inserted into Martian orbit, and to some extent gravity will take over.
Of course, MAVEN will still have to use its thrusters, as it fine-tunes its position and locks into its final orbit during a six-week commissioning phase. The probe will also test its instruments during this time period -- instruments that MAVEN will eventually use to study Mars' upper atmosphere during its year spinning about the Red Planet.