
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
Watch India launch advanced military satellite on rocket's 1st flight since May 2025 failure - 2
Lecturer who called Israel a terrorist state to remain Plaid Cymru candidate - 3
A few Exemplary Chinese Dishes, Which Are Famous Around the world - 4
Figure out How to Introduce Sunlight powered chargers on Your Rooftop securely - 5
Trying to improve your health and wellness in 2026? Keep it simple
One perk to marrying Richard Marx later in life? 'We don't have time' for stupid arguments, says Daisy Fuentes.
Hitting the brakes: Hubble Space Telescope watches doomed comet reverse its spin
Equality requires universal draft, participation in economy and workforce, MK Liberman says
Select Your Definitive Pizza Decision
Kendall Jenner addresses long-standing rumor about her sexuality
19 Peculiar Films You Shouldn't Watch With Your Mum
I tried a macho, creatine-loaded cereal “for men.” Did I mention I'm a woman?
Winona Ryder didn't take the 'Stranger Things' plot lightly. How 'otherworldly' grief and a kidnapping in her hometown informed her character.
'Pluribus' release date: Everything you need to know about the new series from 'Better Call Saul's' co-creator












