First week after MAVEN Mars Orbit Insertion (Sep 21-28)
- Sep 22: MAVEN Transition to Transition Phase Configuration; possible IUVS observation
- Sep 22: At 09:12 UTC, Mars Orbiter Mission test-fires its main engine
- Sep 24: Periapsis Lowering Maneuver 1 -- a rocket burn at apoapsis will reduce the spacecraft's orbital energy and drop its periapsis closer to the planet
- Sep 24: At 02:00 UTC, Mars Orbiter Mission arrives
- Sep 26: MAVEN Period Reduction Maneuver 1 -- a rocket burn at periapsis will shrink the size of the orbit, lowering the apoapsis
Second week after MAVEN arrival (Sep 29-Oct 4)
- Oct 2: Period Reduction Maneuver 2
Third week after MAVEN arrival (Oct 5-11)
- Oct 5: Periapsis Lowering Maneuver 2
- Oct 6: Particles and Fields package checkout; Periapse Time Estimation data collection
- Oct 7: Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) pre-deploy checkout 1
- Oct 9: Period Reduction Maneuver 3
- Oct 10: Langmuir Probe and Wves (LPW) deployment
- Oct 11: Articulated Payload Platform and Solar Wind Electron Analyzer (SWEA) deployment
Fourth week after MAVEN arrival (Oct 12-18)
- Oct 13: Payload Platform calibration / Remote sensing instrument checkout
- Oct 14: NGIMS checkout 2 / cover deploy
- Oct 16: Comet Siding Spring science begins
Fifth week after MAVEN arrival (Oct 19-25)
- Oct 19: At 18:32 UTC, Siding Spring passes by Mars
- Oct 22: Post Siding Spring spacecraft checkouts
- Oct 23: Periapsis Lowering Maneuver 3
- Oct 24: Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) scans
Sixth week after MAVEN arrival (Oct 26-Nov 1)
- Oct 24: LPW sync and modes
- Oct 28: Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) and Magnetometer (MAG) scans
- Oct 29: Electra Bit Error Rate, Sniff, Switch exercise (Electra is not a science instrument; it is the communications relay for landed Mars missions like Curiosity and Opportunity.)
- Oct 30: Periapsis Lowering Maneuver 4
- Oct 31: Payload Platform calibration / Remote sensing instrument checkout repeat
Seventh week after MAVEN arrival (Nov 2-8)
- Nov 3: LPW ping test
- Nov 4: MAG roll
- Nov 5: NGIMS checkout 3
- Nov 6: Engineering dry run; Electra communications pass with Curiosity
- Nov 7: Orbit trim maneuver 0
- Nov 8: Science start