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Flight
controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
California, commanded the MAVEN spacecraft, which is studying
Mars' vanishing atmosphere, to fire up its engine on Tuesday to
boost its speed by about 1.3 feet per second (0.4 meters per
second).
The acceleration was necessary to slightly shift MAVEN's orbit
and steer the satellite clear of the Martian moon Phobos, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a
statement.
Without the tweak, MAVEN and the small, lumpy moon would have
reached the same point in space within seven seconds of one
another next Monday, March 6. In its new orbit, MAVEN will miss
Phobos by about 2-1/2 minutes, NASA said.
MAVEN is in an egg-shaped orbit that regularly crosses the paths
of other science satellites and of Phobos, which circles just
6,000 miles (9,656 km) above the Martian surface, closer than
any other known moon to a planet in the solar system. At that
distance, Phobos whips around Mars three times a day.
Flight controllers regularly monitor MAVEN's path for potential
collisions. Tuesday's evasive action was the first time MAVEN
had to dodge the potato-shaped Phobos, which measures about 10
by 14 miles by 11 miles (16 by 22.5 by 18 km).
MAVEN, short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, reached
the red planet in September 2014.
(Editing by Steve Gorman and Sandra Maler)
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