
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
Fire Allegedly Triggered by Wedding Cake Sparkler Causes Venue to Go Up in Flames, Leaving Groom with Second-Degree Burns - 2
Anger as German family business group opens talks with far-right AfD - 3
Cuba says 33 have died of mosquito-borne illnesses as epidemic rages - 4
The Secret Side of Italy: 12 Underrated Destinations Locals Don’t Want Tourists to Find - 5
Jury says Johnson & Johnson owes $40 million to 2 cancer patients who used talcum powders
5 VIP Voice Exhibitions in Energized Movies
Scientists find evidence that an asteroid contains tryptophan
AI is making spacecraft propulsion more efficient – and could even lead to nuclear-powered rockets
Instructions to Perceive and Grasp the Early Side effects of Cellular breakdown in the lungs
Most loved VR Game for Wellness: Which Keeps You Dynamic?
Grasping the Course of Evacuation and Extradition in U.S. Migration
Eating ultra-processed foods could raise precancerous polyp risk for women under 50, according to research
Japan deploys the military to counter a surge in bear attacks
Select Your Go-To Bluetooth Earphones













