A long-running Mars orbiter that outlived its original mission by a decade has gone silent, and NASA isn't sure it can bring it back. The agency on Monday confirmed it hasn't received telemetry from the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft since Dec. 4. Space.com reports a sliver of tracking data picked up on Dec. 6 "delivered a bit of additional bad news." NASA reports the data suggests MAVEN "was rotating in an unexpected manner when it emerged from behind Mars" and may have shifted its path.
Engineers are now combing through that data to figure out what went wrong. "Efforts to reestablish contact with MAVEN also continue," NASA said Monday. Launched in 2013 and in orbit around Mars since 2014, MAVEN was built to operate for one year but has been studying why the planet's atmosphere drastically thinned for nearly 11. It also serves as one of four key relay satellites that pass data between Earth and the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers.
MAVEN has been brought back from the brink once before. A lengthy communications loss in 2022 led engineers to pinpoint problems with its inertial measurement units, which help with navigation. They recovered the mission by delivering new software that has since allowed the orbiter to orient itself using stars instead. Even if NASA manages another save now, Gizmodo points out that MAVEN faces a separate threat: a proposed 2026 NASA budget that would cut funding for several missions that have exceeded their intended lifespan.
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