NASA's Maven (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft has recently entered orbit around Mars, completing a journey 442 million miles in the course of ten months. According to CNN, the spacecraft will not land on Mars, but will instead study Mars' atmosphere from above in order to answer questions about its climate change.

The news that the spacecraft fired its breaks and slipped into orbit broke late Sunday night, generating much excitement. NASA's chief for science missions John Grunsfeld stated, "This is such an incredible night," conveying his enthusiasm for the mission. The level of excitement is deserved - this is the 10^th mission sent to the red planet, and three earlier missions had failed.

According to FOX, flight controllers will spend the next six weeks adjusting the Maven's altitude and checking its science instruments. Only then will it be able conduct its observations.

The Maven's mission is the first of its kind, and is devoted to studying the upper Martian atmosphere in order to get a bigger and better picture of Mar's history of climate, water, and habitability. Bruce Jakosky, Maven principal investigator, stated, "The evidence shows that the Mars atmosphere today is a cold, dry environment, one where liquid water really can't exist in a stable state... But it also tells us when we look at older surfaces, that the ancient surfaces had liquid water flowing over them."

Maven won't be the only spacecraft circling Mars - it has company. Three spacecraft already circle Mars - two American and one European - and India's first interplanetary probe, Mangalyaan, is expected to reach Mars in two days and aim for orbit.

There will also be a visitor of the cosmic kind - according to CNN, Comet Sliding Spring will brush past Maven and will miss Mars by 81,000 miles. Jakosky stated, "I'm told that the odds of having an approach that close to Mars are about one-in-a-million years," and added that the comet's dust will carry a "relatively minimal" risk to the spacecraft.