9 months ago
NASA Loses Contact With MAVEN Mars Orbiter
NASA has lost contact with a spacecraft called MAVEN that has been studying Mars for over a decade.
MAVEN went silent on December 6, 2025, when it passed behind Mars.
Before this happened, the spacecraft was working fine, but NASA couldn't get it to respond again after it came back into view.
MAVEN has been very important in helping scientists understand how Mars lost its atmosphere and water over time.
It also helps other NASA rovers on Mars communicate with Earth.
NASA is working hard to figure out what went wrong and get MAVEN working again.
There are other spacecraft still working around Mars, like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey, which help with research and communication.
NASA lost contact with the MAVEN spacecraft on December 6, 2025, as it passed behind Mars.
MAVEN was operating normally before the signal loss and has been studying Mars' upper atmosphere since 2014.
NASA is actively investigating the issue and attempting to regain communication with the probe.
MAVEN has made significant contributions to understanding Mars' atmospheric loss and water history.
Other operational spacecraft around Mars include the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey.
- Who
- NASA and the MAVEN spacecraft team
- What
- Loss of contact with the MAVEN Mars orbiter
- Where
- Mars orbit
- When
- December 6, 2025
- Why
- Unknown, but NASA is investigating the anomaly
Key facts
- Spacecraft Name
- MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN)
- Launch Date
- 2013
- Orbit Entry Date
- September 2014
- Date of Signal Loss
- December 6, 2025
- Primary Mission
- Study Mars' upper atmosphere and solar wind interaction
- Secondary Role
- Communication relay for rovers Curiosity and Perseverance
- Key Discoveries
- Mars' atmosphere loss, water loss mechanisms, global wind patterns, magnetic tail, sputtering process, proton aurora
Quotes
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
“NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft, in orbit around Mars, experienced a loss of signal with ground stations on Earth on Dec. 6. Telemetry from MAVEN had showed all subsystems working normally before it orbited behind the Red Planet. After the spacecraft emerged from behind Mars, NASA's Deep Space Network did not observe a signal.”
NDTV
“The spacecraft and operations teams are investigating the anomaly to address the situation. More information will be shared once it becomes available.”
NDTV
Sources
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