
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
Trial of pro-Palestine activist begins - 2
Google's proposed data center in orbit will face issues with space debris in an already crowded orbit - 3
21 Things You Ought to Never Tell Your Childless Companion - 4
Bonk.fun’s April Fools Joke Targets Israel, Sparks Debate - 5
Recent studies prove the ancient practice of nasal irrigation is effective at fighting the common cold
Well known SUVs With Low Energy Utilization In 2024 vote
Elvis Presley's Infamous Pantera Shooting
Favored Vehicle for Seniors: Make Your Determination
Audits of 6 American Busssiness Class Flights
Netflix Faces Wider Fallout After Italy Court Orders Refunds, Price Cuts
Director of Swiss hospital describes the rush to treat the injured from Alpine resort bar fire
Dozens of hidden star streams found in the outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy
Collierville residents with no power as temperatures plunge
Dark matter may be made of pieces of giant, exotic objects — and astronomers think they know how to look for them











