NASA declares end of mission for long-lasting Mars orbiter
CBS News • • general
Key Points:
- NASA's MAVEN spacecraft lost contact after passing behind Mars on December 6, 2025, and despite attempts to reset it remotely, the $582 million mission was declared over.
- MAVEN, launched in 2013 and initially designed for a one-year mission, provided unprecedented insights into how the solar wind erodes Mars' atmosphere, extending its mission multiple times over 11 years.
- The probe's most significant discovery involved confirming the "sputtering" atmospheric escape process, where charged particles eject neutral atmospheric particles, affecting Mars and potentially other planets.
- MAVEN also supported Mars rovers by relaying communications and was functioning normally before losing signal, but telemetry indicated the spacecraft was spinning uncontrollably, preventing power generation and communication.
- NASA has launched an investigation into the anomaly but will make no further contact attempts; the spacecraft will remain in Mars orbit for decades, and the mission is celebrated as one of the best Mars missions ever.