
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
Top notch DSLR Cameras for Photography Devotees - 2
Ukraine demands army of 800,000 under peace plan - 3
Is 'Veronica Mars' about to be your new binge-watch? It's now streaming on Netflix. - 4
Easy to understand Tech: Cell phones for Old in 2024 - 5
The most effective method to Connect Successfully with Teachers in a Web based Setting
Vote In favor of Your Favored Web-based Venture Stage
Day to day Temporary Positions That Compensate Fairly in the US
Poll: Only 25% of Americans think Trump has 'followed through' on his promise to release the Epstein files
France, Germany, Italy summon Iranian envoys over 'unbearable, inhumane' regime crackdown
Gauging the Upsides and downsides of Visas: A Complete Aide
4 astronauts are en route home from ISS after medical issue forces early exit
German foreign minister heads to China to talk rare-earth exports
Bronze Age "City of Seven Ravines" unearthed in central Asia after 3,500 years
The Best 20 Photography Instagram Records to Follow












