
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
Want to be better about saving money in 2026? Try these money-saving tips for having a ‘low-buy’ January and beyond - 2
Gulf of Mexico oil spill spread hundreds of miles, killed wildlife and polluted Mexican reserves - 3
Europe's powerful Ariane 6 rocket launches Sentinel-1D Earth-observation satellite to orbit (video) - 4
German gas price bill signed into law, but consumers not impressed - 5
Cyclone Narelle turns Australian skies blood red in ‘apocalyptic’ scenes
Police arrest 18 as anti-war protests spread across Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem
Vote in favor of Your #1 Home Exercise Gear: Execution and Comfort Matter
Foreign military officials can become Israel's ambassadors, senior IDF commander tells 'Post'
Norovirus infections increase significantly, with positive test rates reaching 14%
Thousands of small fish defy gravity to climb Congo waterfall
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 189 — Privatizing Orbit
Vote In favor of Your Favored Web-based Visual depiction Administration
What Middle East Conflict Could Mean For The World’s Largest Whale Shark Gathering
Takeaways from AP’s report on potential impacts of Alaska’s proposed Ambler Access Road













