NASA Loses Contact with MAVEN Mars Orbiter

Key facts

• NASA has lost contact with the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft after it passed behind Mars as seen from Earth.
• MAVEN launched in November 2013 and entered Mars orbit in September 2014 to study the planet’s upper atmosphere and interactions with the solar wind.
• The spacecraft serves as a communications relay, linking the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers with the Deep Space Network via its UHF antenna.
• In 2022, MAVEN switched to an “all-stellar” navigation system to reduce reliance on its inertial measurement units (IMUs) that had experienced technical issues.