NASA loses contact with MAVEN Mars orbiter

NASA has not been able to communicate with its MAVEN Mars orbiter. The ground stations could not establish contact with the spacecraft after it emerged from behind Mars during an orbit.
New Delhi: NASA has lost contact with one of its spacecraft in orbit around Mars. According to a statement from NASA, “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. The spacecraft and operations teams are investigating the anomaly to address the situation. More information will be shared once it becomes available.”
The MAVEN orbiter was launched in 2013, and entered into orbit around Mars in 2014. The goal of the mission is to monitor and characterise the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars as well as the influence of solar activity on the Red Planet. Solar wind continuously strips away the wispy Martian atmosphere. Monitoring this atmospheric loss allows scientists to better understand the climate and habitability of Mars. The Red Planet is on the verge of habitability, and monitoring the atmosphere also allows scientists to determine the behaviour of water on or beneath the surface. MAVEN celebrated ten years in orbit around Mars in 2024.
Communication blackouts are frequent