Overview
- NASA confirmed the loss of regular communications with MAVEN and said teams are working to reestablish contact.
- A brief fragment of telemetry indicated the spacecraft may be rotating in an unexpected manner.
- Technical investigations are in progress to determine the cause of the communications outage.
- Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey remain operational to support relay and science activities around Mars.
- Launched in 2013, MAVEN has studied the planet’s upper atmosphere since 2014 and has served as a relay for the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers.