MAVEN Navigation During the First Mars Year of the Science Mission

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission (MAVEN) is the first mission devoted to studying the Martian atmosphere. From a Navigation perspective it is unique in that science is performed at near aerobraking altitudes. This results in the requirements on Navigation trajectory accuracy requirements which are an order of magnitude tighter than those of aerobraking phases on previous missions. Navigation experiences with the Mars atmosphere are described as they pertain to Navigation models, trajectory reconstructions, trajectory predictions, density corridor control, and collision avoidance of other bodies around Mars.