NASA's Mars MAVEN mission will launch within the hour. The mission hopes to reveal a number of the red planet's secrets.
"The fuel and oxygen tanks on the Atlas V booster and Centaur upper stage are loaded with propellants now, a major step on the way to launching today at 1:28 p.m. EST. Launch controllers are getting ready for the last planned hold of the countdown, a 10-minute pause that begins at T-4 minutes," NASA's blog reported in its last post.
MAVEN will officially launch at exactly 1:28 p.m. EST, and NASA expects a smooth ride.
"As a weather system moves into the area from the northwest, electrical potential in the area has been toggling between acceptable limits on a field mill instrument. A field mill is a specialized instrument used for measuring the strength of electrical fields in the atmosphere near thunderstorm clouds. At this time all the field mills are green," NASA reported.
The mission hopes to look at Mars' "upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions with the sun and solar wind." Through this crucial information NASA hopes to peer into the Red Planet's mysterious history.
Thanks & see you soon. MT: @MarsCuriosity: From the Big, Blue Marble to the Red Planet, best wishes for a safe launch & smooth cruise. #Mars, the official NASA MAVEN Twitter account tweeted this morning.
"Today's liftoff fire and thunder will be produced by an Atlas V rocket powered by an RD-180 engine at the bottom of the Atlas V first stage. The engine, which uses two thrust chambers and nozzles, burns rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen to generate 860,200 pounds of thrust. A Centaur upper stage will take over four minutes, 18 seconds into flight after the first stage tanks are emptied," NASA reported.
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