
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 trip to Colombia in my 20s turned into 8 years freelancing in South America. Here's what I'd do differently. - 2
4 Must-Visit bar-b-que Eateries This Year - 3
NASA counts down for first crewed lunar mission in half a century - 4
NASA Artemis II tracker: Where is the Orion now and when will it reach the moon? - 5
Five EU states press for windfall taxes on fossil energy sector
Aspirin can prevent a serious pregnancy complication — but too few women get it, new report suggests
Tuesday, April 7. Russia’s War On Ukraine: News And Information From Ukraine
Newly identified species of Tanzanian tree toad leapfrog the tadpole stage and give birth to toadlets
Top 15 Supportable Design Brands Coming out on top
4 astronauts are en route home from ISS after medical issue forces early exit
Lift Your Style: Famous Hairdos for Ladies
Dominating the Mastercard Endorsement Cycle: Six Fundamental Stages
The next frontier in space is closer than you think – welcome to the world of very low Earth orbit satellites
Stolen Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse were probably uninsured, market sources say













