MAVEN to be Launched in November, Will Explain how Mars Lost Atmosphere; NASA

A new space probe by NASA- the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission (MAVEN) - will be launched Nov. 18 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The data from the mission is expected to help solve the mystery of how the Red Planet lost its atmosphere.

Nobody knows what happened to mars' atmosphere. Many experts believe that the gases enveloping the planet were lost after the planet's magnetic field faded. Another study suggested that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere got trapped within Martian rocks.

MAVEN is expected to collect data that would help astronomers understand the planets climate history as well as its future. The information will also be used to design future manned missions to the planet.

If successful, MAVEN will take about 10 months (late September 2014) to reach its destination. Once there, it will orbit the planet for a year. Its altitude will range from 3,800 miles to 93 miles, the agency said.

The spacecraft weighs over 5,000 pounds and has three instrument suits that will help it gather information about the planet's upper atmosphere.

"The MAVEN mission is a significant step toward unraveling the planetary puzzle about Mars' past and present environments," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, according to a news release. "The knowledge we gain will build on past and current missions examining Mars and will help inform future missions to send humans to Mars."

The mission, however, won't look for methane- a gas that shows the presence of biological organisms, AFP reported.

Finding possibilities of life on Mars has become a popular area of research. More recently, in an ambitious space exploration project, Mars One - a non-profit organization proposed to set up a human settlement on the red planet. It intends to build and sustain an inhabitable environment on the alien land and is soliciting applications. More than 200,000 people from across the world have applied for the one-way ticket to Mars, reports Realty Today.