
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
Al-Sharaa denies he called for 80% of Syrians to return from Germany - 2
What is ‘Auld Lang Syne’? Why we sing this song at midnight on New Year’s Eve. - 3
Careful Nurturing: Techniques for Bringing up Tough Children - 4
Best Amusement Park in Europe: Where Do You Very much want to Visit? - 5
Lilly becomes first healthcare firm to join trillion-dollar club, Wall Street reacts
Instructions to Back Your Sunlight powered chargers: Tracking down Possible Choices
The most effective method to Succeed in Your Profession with a Web based Advertising Degree
IDF destroys Hamas shaft in northern Gaza with loaded 'ready to fire' rocket aimed at Sderot
Which sandwich do you find totally delectable? !
A definitive Burger Confrontation: Which One Rules?
7 Powerful Methods for forestalling Telephone Overheating: Keep Your Gadget Cool
'No middle ground' for tackling antisemitism after Bondi Beach mass shooting, deputy FM Haskel says
South Africa pushes for $200B investment
From Educational Loans to Obligation Free: Independence from the rat race Accomplished













