MAVEN bows out at Mars after a decade of atmospheric insight
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.