
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
Most loved Solace Food: What's Your Definitive Comfortable Dinner? - 2
Mars orbiter sees 'butterfly' crater spread its wings on the Red Planet - 3
CDC clarifies stance on vaccines and autism, stating no evidence supports the link - 4
Understanding Various Sorts of Financial balances: An Extensive Outline - 5
Nurturing Hacks: Shrewdness from Experienced Mothers and Fathers
Promising Speculation Bearings for Portfolio Development in 2024
Watch interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS make its closest approach to Earth in free livestream on Dec. 18
Wonderful Sea shores All over the Planet
Why this Iranian island looks like Mars after it rains
Unpaid caregiving work can feel small and personal, but that doesn’t take away its ethical value
Consume Fat Quick: 10 Demonstrated Activities for Ideal Outcomes
Top 15 Online Entertainment Stages for Individual Marking
‘The White Lotus’ sparked online interest in risky anxiety pills, study says
International issues on the agenda as Frances's Macron visits China













