
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
A rare whale is having an encouraging season for births. Scientists warn it might still go extinct - 2
Why this Iranian island looks like Mars after it rains - 3
Ukraine apologizes to Finland for crashed drones - 4
Scientists document a death from a meat allergy tied to certain ticks - 5
Argentina reportedly delaying embassy move over Israeli company's oil project near Falklands
Ocean side Objections: Staggering Waterfront Breaks
Independence from the rat race for Recent college grads: Systems and Tips
4 Famous Gaming PCs of 2024: Execution, Versatility, and Advancement
7 Peculiar Ways Of starting Your Imagination: Motivation Has Never Been This Good times
Proficient Cultivating Devices for a Lovely and Useful Nursery in 2024
Anthony Joshua's driver charged over Nigeria crash that killed two
This is Countdown, CNN’s newsletter covering NASA’s first time sending humans to deep space in over 50 years
Instructions to Expand Your Smash 1500's Presentation: Tips and Deceives
Explosions at Burundi ammunition depot kill civilians, witnesses say













