
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA has lost contact with a spacecraft that has orbited Mars for more than a decade.
Maven abruptly stopped communicating to ground stations over the weekend. NASA said this week that it was working fine before it went behind the red planet. When it reappeared, there was only silence.
Launched in 2013, Maven began studying the upper Martian atmosphere and its interaction with the solar wind once reaching the red planet the following year. Scientists ended up blaming the sun for Mars losing most of its atmosphere to space over the eons, turning it from wet and warm to the dry and cold world it is today.
Maven also has served as a communication relay for NASA’s two Mars rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance.
Engineering investigations are underway, according to NASA.
NASA has two other spacecraft around Mars that are still active: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2005, and Mars Odyssey, launched in 2001.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
From Educational Loans to Obligation Free: Independence from the rat race Accomplished22.09.2023 - 2
Embracing Practical Living and Ecological Protection06.06.2024 - 3
If evolution is real, then why isn’t it happening now? An anthropologist explains that humans actually are still evolving17.11.2025 - 4
RFK Jr.'s handpicked vaccine panel just voted to stop recommending hepatitis B shots for all newborns. Why experts object.05.12.2025 - 5
Europe could get 42 more days of summer by the year 2100 due to climate change01.12.2025
This Miraculous, Cliff-Perched Town In The South Of France Is A Sacred European Gem
How a rare drug made from scientists' blood saves babies from botulism
7 Well known Vacation spots In The US
Savvy Tips for Seniors Hyundai IONIQ EV
Sustaining Public activity and Connections: Key Methodologies
Ancient Pompeii construction site reveals the process for creating Roman concrete
'No middle ground' for tackling antisemitism after Bondi Beach mass shooting, deputy FM Haskel says
Reporter's notebook: Inside the IDF’s ‘Hamas Village,’ and how Israel is rewriting urban warfare
Step by step instructions to Get a good deal on Your Rooftop Substitution Venture













