
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
They died 'doing what they loved': The stories of workers in their 80s who died on the job - 2
Free Fuel Giveaway Sparks Traffic Mayhem Before Police Shut It Down - 3
Instructions to Pick the Right Tires for Your Slam 1500. - 4
Woman charged in unprovoked stabbing of tourist changing baby's diaper in Macy’s Herald Square store - 5
Image of foreigners being arrested in S.Africa during Eid is AI-generated
What really happens when 140 reality stars come face to face with their biggest fans
Volkswagen in talks with defence firms on use of Germany plant: CEO
What's inside Mexico's Popocatépetl? Scientists obtain first 3D images of the whole volcano
Manual for Instructive Application for Youngsters
With more Moon missions on the horizon, avoiding crowding and collisions will be a growing challenge
Step by step instructions to Safeguard Your Teeth During Sports Exercises
Exploring the School Application Cycle: Understudy Bits of knowledge
Figure out How to Modify Your Pre-assembled Home for Greatest Solace and Stylish Allure
A Russian fighting for Ukraine conned the Kremlin out of $500,000 by faking his own death













