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3mo ago

NASA Confirms Loss of Contact With MAVEN After Routine Mars Occultation

The long-running orbiter is a key relay for Mars rovers, prompting active recovery efforts.

NASA no encontró el motivo detrás de la pérdida del contacto con su nave
This combination of ultraviolet spectrum images provided by NASA shows atmospheric features of the planet Mars in July 2022, left, during the southern hemisphere’s summer season, and the planet’s northern hemisphere in January 2023 after Mars had passed the farthest point in its orbit from the Sun, captured by the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft. (NASA/LASP/CU Boulder via AP)
NASA pierde contacto con una de sus naves clave en el estudio de Marte. Foto: NASA.
Image

Overview

  • MAVEN stopped transmitting on December 6 after passing behind Mars, despite telemetry showing normal subsystem status beforehand.
  • Mission teams are investigating the anomaly, sending blind commands and sweeping Deep Space Network frequencies for any return signal.
  • Engineers consider a loss of attitude determination a possible cause, though no definitive diagnosis has been announced.
  • Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey remain operational and can backstop relay duties as MAVEN remains silent.
  • The orbiter entered Mars orbit in 2014, previously recovered from an attitude-related issue in 2022, and was expected to have propellant for operations into the late 2030s.