
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
A 'Stranger Things' documentary covering the final season is on its way: Watch the trailer - 2
Wonderful Sea shores All over the Planet - 3
Native artists in Texas and Mexico shared their vision of the universe for 4,000 years, ancient murals suggest - 4
2024 Watch Gathering: The Best Watches of the Year - 5
The Leonid meteor shower is peaking early this week. Here’s what to know
Dark matter obeys gravity after all — could that rule out a 5th fundamental force in the universe?
Ultra-Orthodox protests erupt across Israel on haredi IDF enlistment day
Most loved Well known Accessory Styles For 2024
These 2 moon rovers used cameras and lasers to hunt for simulated water ice — and one looks like WALL-E
Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay are here: Top songs, albums and artists of 2025
Watch Blue Origin's huge New Glenn rocket ace its epic landing on a ship at sea (video)
Nordic people know how to beat the winter blues. Here's how to find light in the darkest months
Governors Ball 2026: Lorde, A$AP Rocky and Stray Kids set to headline
'Seditious behavior': Trump accuses Democrats who made video reminding the military not to follow illegal orders of a crime — but is it?











