
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
Blue Origin launches huge rocket carrying twin NASA spacecraft to Mars - 2
The 15 Most Powerful Forerunners in Business - 3
Did we start the fire? A 400,000-year-old hearth sparks new questions about human evolution - 4
Was This Driver Simply Having A great time Or Behaving Like An Ass? - 5
Kelsey Grammer on having a new baby at 70: 'You're just more available now'
Humanity is back at the moon! Artemis 2 astronauts arrive in lunar space
Dental Embed Innovation: An Achievement in Helpful Dentistry
Two Indonesian UN peacekeepers killed in explosion in Lebanon
Sea level doesn’t rise at the same rate everywhere – we mapped where Antarctica’s ice melt would have the biggest impact
Picking the Right Pot for Your Plants: An Aide for Plant Devotees
Change Your Physical make-up: Compelling Activities for Muscle Building
Rocket shines under the northern lights | Space photo of the day for March 25, 2026
Manual for Conservative SUVs For Seniors
Scientists Just Discovered Japan’s First New Bird Species in Over 40 Years













