Goddard Projects Directory

The search for M produced 4 results out of 249 records MAGSAT/AEM-3 Launch Date: 10/30/1979 Magnetic Field Satellite, Applications Explorer Mission to measure the magnetic field of the Earth. Other Name(s):  Explorer 61 |  Project Information  |  NSSDC Link  |   MAP Launch Date: 06/30/2001 The Microwave Anisotropy Probe was successfully launched toward an orbit at the L2 libration point where it will investigate smaller scale variations in the cosmic microwave background radiation. The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) mission will reveal conditions as they existed in the early universe by measuring the properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation over the full sky. This microwave radiation was released approximately 300,000 years after the birth of the universe. MAP will create a picture of the microwave radiation using temperature difference measured from opposite directions (anisotropy); the content of this image will tell us much about the fundamental structure of the universe. To addresses its key scientific questions, MAP measures small variations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation. These variations are minute: one part of the sky has a temperature of 2.7251 Kelvin (degrees above absolute zero), while another part of the sky has a temperature of 2.7249 Kelvin. In 1992, NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite detected these tiny temperature differences on large angular scales. MAP will measure anisotropy* with much finer detail and greater sensitivity than COBE did. These measurements should reveal the size, matter content, age, geometry and fate of the universe. They will also reveal the primordial structure that grew to form galaxies and will test ideas about the origins of these primordial structures. Other Name(s):  Microwave Anisotropy Probe, Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, WMAP, Explorer 80, MIDEX/WMAP, MIDEX 2 |  GSFC Link  |  NSSDC Link  |  Additional URL 1  |  Additional URL 2  |  Image Gallery  |  Educational Resource  |   MESSENGER Launch Date: 07/30/2004 The Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission carries a Goddard science instrument, the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA), which is mounted externally on the bottom deck of the main body. This mission will also carry a Goddard experiment, the Radio Science (RS) experiment, which will use the existing communications system. Other Name(s):  Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging, Discovery 8 |  NSSDC Link  |  Additional URL 1  |  Additional URL 2  |  Image Gallery  |  Educational Resource  |   MGS Launch Date: 11/07/1996 The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, managed and operated by the Jet Propulsion Lab, has 2 GSFC instruments: a laser altimeter, and a magnetometer/electron reflectrometer. In November 1996, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory began America's return to Mars after a 20-year absence by launching the MGS spacecraft. The Surveyor spacecraft was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida on November 7, 1996, aboard a Delta-7925 rocket. The 1,062-kilogram (2,342-pound) spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics, traveled nearly 750 million kilometers (466 million miles) over the course of a 300-day cruise to reach Mars on September 12, 1997. Over the course of a full Martian year, Surveyor will return an unprecedented amount of data regarding Mars' surface features, atmosphere, and magnetic properties. Scientists will use the data gathered from this mission both to learn about the Earth by comparing it to Mars and to build a comprehensive data set to aid in planning future missions. Mars and Earth shared similar conditions billions of years ago, but appear much different today. A comparison of Mars and Earth will allow scientists to understand Earth's history and possibly its future. Other Name(s):  Mars Global Surveyor |  GSFC Link  |  NSSDC Link  |  Additional URL 1  |  Image Gallery  |  Educational Resource  |