Nov 15, 2013 12:23 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

NASA's latest journey to Mars will explore the massive transition the Red Planet underwent and how it became a barren wasteland after apparently being rich with water and thick atmosphere.

According to a press release, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft will launch on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket Monday, Nov. 18 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida. While Curiosity aims to discover clues on the ground, MAVEN will examine Mars' atmosphere to determine what caused its disappearance.

"After 10 years of working on this, I can't tell you how excited I am to see this finished spacecraft ready to go," Bruce Jakosky, the mission's principal investigator, said in the release.

Curiosity is on a trek to Mount Sharp and will pick up clues on the surface as it goes. The mountain is believed to hold answers to many mysteries regarding Mars' planetary makeup, but its atmosphere has gone mostly unstudied. If the atmosphere deteriorated like many experts believe it has, then it is possible the sun's harmful rays dried up the planet and anything living on it.

Jakosky has been involved with the MAVEN project from day one and is anxiously awaiting not only its launch, but what information it brings back.

"Mars is a complicated system, just as complicated as the Earth in its own way," Jakosky said. "You can't hope, with a single spacecraft, to study all aspects and to learn everything there is to know about it. With MAVEN, we're exploring the single biggest unexplored piece of Mars so far."

If all goes according to plan, MAVEN will reach Mars on Sept. 22, 2014 and enter into an orbit around the Red Planet. It will circle at a maximum altitude of 3,728 miles and dip as low as 77 miles off the surface, providing data on the upper and lower parts of the atmosphere.

"The spacecraft is symbolic of the hundreds of people that have been a part of this since day one, and all kinds of support that's needed to get us here," said David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager at Goddard.

While NASA has already put rovers on the surface of Mars, reaching the mysterious planet and learning its secrets is still a thrill to those involved.

"We're really excited," Mitchell said. "We're so close now. I mean, we're headed to Mars."

Ahead of the launch, NASA has released a video illustrating the percieved evolution of surface conditions on Mars over the last four billion years.

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