
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
Material of Innovativeness: A Survey of \Releasing Your Imaginative Potential\ Online Workmanship Course - 2
Mummified cheetahs found in Saudi caves shed light on lost populations - 3
Senior's Manual for Obtaining a Hyundai Ioniq EV: Tips - 4
Eco-Accommodating Kitchen Machines: 4 Picks for a Manageable Home - 5
College students are now slightly less likely to experience severe depression, research shows – but the mental health crisis is far from over
How to get tickets for AC/DC's 2026 'Power Up' Tour
Ukrainian man arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia
Watch Chinese astronauts enjoy '1st ever space BBQ' from Tiangong's brand-new oven (video)
An ex-FBI agent analyzes what we learned from Savannah Guthrie's 'Today' show interview amid the search for her mother Nancy
Collierville residents with no power as temperatures plunge
The most exciting exoplanet discoveries of 2025
Explosions at Burundi ammunition depot kill civilians, witnesses say
Discovery of massive spider's web in Greece reveals unexpected behavior
How color-changing, bacteria-infused spacesuits could help keep future astronauts safe from space radiation













