Overview
- Telemetry indicated normal operations before MAVEN passed behind Mars on December 6, but no signal was detected when it re-emerged, NASA reported on December 9.
- Mission controllers and the Deep Space Network are investigating the anomaly and attempting to reestablish contact, with DSN operators pinging the spacecraft along its predicted orbit.
- MAVEN has been in Mars orbit since 2014, studying atmospheric loss processes and serving as a high-throughput communications relay for the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers.
- A prolonged outage could reduce data-relay capacity for surface missions, as NASA’s other relay-capable orbiters—Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey—are significantly older, with partial backup from ESA’s Mars orbiters.
- The loss of contact follows a 2022 navigation crisis that was resolved by switching MAVEN to stellar-based navigation, and it comes after budget moves that targeted MAVEN for termination even as Congress set aside funds to study a next-generation Mars telecom orbiter.