Font Size: Welcome to the Camarillo Airport. The Camarillo Airport (CMA), as it is known today, was the former Oxnard Air Force Base. The base was established in the early 1950âs for coastal defense and a variety of military aircraft operated here until 1969 when the base was deactivated.
5. Atmospheric Probes: These space probes remain in, or transit through the atmosphere of the planet or moon and study weather patterns and atmospheric peculiarities until its end. The Huygens probe to Titan acted as an atmospheric probe and then a lander once it was on the surface of Saturn's moon.
Up to 50 times as efficient as chemical rockets, they are now primarily used for satellite station-keeping. NASA's Deep Space 1, launched in 1998, was the first probe to use an ion engine for main propulsion. Dawn, which is currently exploring the asteroid belt, also uses one.