NASA has lost contact with one its three spacecraft orbiting Mars, the agency announced Tuesday. Meanwhile, a second Mars orbiter is perilously close to running out of fuel, and the third mission is running well past its warranty.
Ground teams last heard from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft on Saturday, December 6. “Telemetry from MAVEN had showed all subsystems working normally before it orbited behind the red planet,” NASA said in a short statement. “After the spacecraft emerged from behind Mars, NASA’s Deep Space Network did not observe a signal.”
NASA said mission controllers are “investigating the anomaly to address the situation. More information will be shared once it becomes available.”
It’s always a bit concerning to hear about communication issues with spacecraft. NASA’s work is incredibly important, and it’s fascinating to see how they handle challenges like this. Looking forward to updates on the situation!
It definitely raises some concerns! It’s fascinating, though, that despite these challenges, NASA has successfully sent multiple missions to Mars, each contributing valuable data about the planet’s atmosphere and geology. It shows the resilience and innovation of space exploration.
Absolutely, it is concerning! It’s also interesting to note how these missions have vastly improved our understanding of Mars’ atmosphere and geology. Even with setbacks, the data gathered so far has been invaluable for future explorations.