
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
How to watch 2026 Golden Globe winners like 'One Battle After Another,' 'Adolescence' and 'The Pitt' - 2
I served on the expert committee that advised the government on new dietary guidelines – most of our recommendations were ignored - 3
Supercharge Your Remote Work Arrangement with These Game-Changing Instruments - 4
These four astronauts could soon travel farther from Earth than anyone has gone before - 5
Figure out How to Pick a Crematorium: Key Contemplations.
EU foreign ministers commemorate Russian massacre in Bucha
Illustrations Gained from a Crosscountry Excursion
Finding Your Motivation: Moves toward a Satisfying Life
The most effective method to Integrate Compact disc Rates into Your Retirement Arranging
Taco Bell debuts its Baja Blast pie, and the reactions may surprise you
Canada Awards C$1.5 Billion Defense Contracts to L3Harris, Airbus
African nations push to recognize crimes of colonialism in Algeria
Pick Your Favored kind of sandwich
Ultra-Orthodox protests erupt across Israel on haredi IDF enlistment day












