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2h ago

NASA Declares MAVEN Unrecoverable After Sudden Loss of Contact

Recovered radio telemetry indicates an unexpected high‑rate rotation drained MAVEN’s batteries, so NASA has begun decommissioning and archiving the mission while the anomaly review continues.

An artist’s concept of NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft orbiting Mars. NASA/Goddard/University of Colorado/Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics/Handout via REUTERS
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Overview

  • The spacecraft last transmitted on Dec. 6, 2025, when it passed behind Mars and failed to reestablish normal communications after emerging.
  • Analysis of Deep Space Network open‑loop recordings showed MAVEN entered safe mode and spun at an unexpected rate of about 2.7 revolutions per minute, which investigators say likely drained its batteries and cut power to the radio.
  • After months of recovery attempts using the DSN and the Green Bank telescope, a NASA anomaly review board concluded on June 3 that MAVEN cannot be recovered and the agency has started formal mission closeout and data archiving.
  • Other Mars orbiters have absorbed MAVEN’s relay work with minor operational changes and occasional short delays, and NASA is pressing ahead with the Mars Telecommunications Network procurement to restore dedicated relay capacity.
  • MAVEN leaves a large scientific legacy — more than 800 publications and key discoveries about Martian auroras, atmospheric sputtering, and dust‑storm effects — and its archived data will continue to inform future Mars science and human mission planning.