
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
Chinese astronauts’ return to Earth delayed over fears spaceship damaged by debris - 2
Sixteen Kenyans missing in Russia after army recruitment - 3
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS isn't an alien spacecraft, astronomers confirm. 'In the end, there were no surprises.' - 4
Senior's Manual for Obtaining a Hyundai Ioniq EV: Tips - 5
Barry Manilow to have surgery for early-stage lung cancer and postpones January concerts
FDA approves Wegovy pill for weight loss
Instructions to Choose the Best Web based Advertising Degree Program for Your Objectives
Artemis 2 astronauts are now headed to the moon. Why has it taken humanity so long to go back?
You finally got a doctor's appointment. Here's how to get the most out of it
The Response to Fake General Knowledge: Investigating the Eventual fate of artificial intelligence
Analysis-NASA's moon mission tests aerospace old guard as SpaceX, Blue Origin hover
Cheetos and Doritos to launch new versions without artificial dyes
Unusual 'ingredients' helped stars form in a galaxy near the Milky Way
CDC's upcoming vote on hepatitis B vaccine could impact childhood immunization













