
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
The Latest: Fueling begins as NASA aims to send 1st crew to the moon in 53 years - 2
Vote In favor of Your Favored Video Conferencing Administration - 3
6 Arranging Administrations to Change Your Open air Space - 4
Land Rover Just Unveiled Its Dakar Rally Defender - 5
Experience Unrivaled Sound: Top Speakers You Really want to Hear
Florence's Uffizi Gallery moves treasures to safety after cyberattack
10 Asian Countries Perfect for Solo Female Travelers
These 45 exoplanets may be the best places to search for alien life
Step by step instructions to Look at Compact disc Rates: A Thorough Aide
The German series proving subtitles can be sexy — and wildly addictive
Becoming amazing at Arranging Pay Raises
Key takeaways from Sen. Bill Cassidy's interview on 'Face the Nation' with Margaret Brennan
Picking the Right Home Machines: A Commonsense Aide
NATO needs Ukraine's 'adaptation DNA' and an 'HOV lane' for new war tech, top commander says













