NASA ends MAVEN mission after 11 years mapping Mars' atmosphere

NASA has decommissioned MAVEN after more than 11 years in Martian orbit; last contact occurred Dec. 6 after MAVEN passed behind Mars, and an anomaly review found the spacecraft unrecoverable due to a battery depletion after an unusual rotation. The agency will archive the full dataset and close out operations. MAVEN significantly advanced understanding of Mars’ atmospheric loss driven by the Sun and solar wind, revealed Mars-specific auroras, measured atmospheric sputtering, studied dust-storm effects on water escape, and even supported observations of comet 3I/ATLAS, producing more than 800 publications and playing a key role in NASA's Mars Relay Network. A media teleconference to discuss its achievements is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT.