MAVEN bows out at Mars after a decade of atmospheric insight
TL;DR
NASA has decommissioned MAVEN, its 11-year Mars orbiter that studied how the planet’s atmosphere loses gas. After losing contact during a routine occultation, engineers could not restore the link, though some telemetry was recovered. MAVEN’s work illuminated atmospheric escape mechanisms such as sputtering and, in addition to science, it served as a crucial relay for Mars rovers. NASA plans a new Mars Telecommunications Network to replace the relay capability by the 2030s.
- After 11 years at Mars, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft went out with a whisper Ars Technica
- NASA declares end of mission for long-lasting Mars orbiter CBS News
- NASA Says Farewell to MAVEN Mars Mission, Hosts Media Call Today NASA (.gov)
- NASA's dead Mars orbiter MAVEN will crash into the Red Planet in the next 100 years. It's not the only probe in the Mars morgue Space
- 'In an unrecoverable state': NASA confirms MAVEN spacecraft is officially dead after orbital 'anomaly' behind Mars Yahoo
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