NASA declared the Maven spacecraft lost after six months without contact, closing a mission that spent more than a decade studying Mars’ atmosphere.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
NASA has ended its Maven mission at Mars after the spacecraft remained silent for six months, bringing to a close more than a decade of atmospheric research and communications support from orbit.
The agency confirmed Wednesday that Maven has been declared lost after efforts to recover contact were unsuccessful. The spacecraft, launched in 2013, was designed to study the Martian atmosphere and help scientists better understand how the red planet changed over time.
Maven stopped communicating in early December after passing behind Mars. Data showed the orbiter entered a rapid spin, disrupting its orbit and draining its onboard batteries.
NASA convened a review board earlier this year to assess the spacecraft’s condition. The board determined Maven could no longer be recovered and had no remaining operational use. An investigation into the cause of the failure is still underway.
During its mission, Maven collected data on Martian weather, studied the planet’s upper atmosphere and observed a stray interstellar comet last year. It also served as a communications relay for NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers operating on the Martian surface.
Shannon Curry, Maven’s lead scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder, said the orbiter delivered major scientific contributions during its years at Mars.
Maven made a number of “amazing discoveries,” Curry said in a statement.
The spacecraft “has truly advanced our understanding of the Martian atmosphere and evolution,” she said.
Maven’s loss leaves NASA without one of its long-running Mars orbiters, but the agency said the mission’s scientific legacy will continue through the data it collected over more than 10 years in operation.
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