
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 NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts launch to the moon on April 1 - 2
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson hospitalized, family requests prayers - 3
From Modesty to Administration: Self-improvement in Interactive abilities - 4
It's time for Artemis II to break Apollo 13's distance record. What to know about the moon flyby - 5
Flying without a Real ID? That'll soon cost you $45, TSA says.
Figure out What Experience Level Means for Medical caretaker Compensation Dealings
Tatiana Schlossberg, JFK's granddaughter, dies at 35 after terminal cancer diagnosis
Ariana Grande says Eternal Sunshine 2026 tour will be her last for a 'long, long time': 'One last hurrah'
Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi backs protests: Join your fellow citizens in the streets
Like many holiday traditions, lighting candles and fireplaces is best done in moderation
Portable Installment Answers for Independent ventures
Hezbollah claims right to respond to killing of top commander
Bondi Beach survivor criticizes police for inaction during terror attack
How mountain terraces have helped Indigenous peoples live with climate uncertainty












