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Maven

All articles tagged with #maven

science24 days ago•3 min saved

Solar Storms May Amplify Martian Dust Storms, New Study Indicates

New analysis using NASA's MAVEN and ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter data suggests solar energetic particle events can heat Mars’ lower atmosphere, and when these events coincide with global dust storms they may intensify the storms. The heating was clearly observed in a June 2018 SEP event during a dust storm (about 50°C at 75–125 km), while a July 2021 event showed a smaller effect; results are not yet conclusive and more data—such as from the 2024 solar storm—are needed to confirm the phenomenon. Opportunity’s demise after a dust storm is mentioned as context for Mars’ weather sensitivity, but the core finding is the potential for multiple solar and atmospheric events to interact and alter Martian weather.

via Gizmodo|

#dust-storms #mars #maven

space-exploration2 months ago•98 min saved

Mars Atmosphere Mission Memento: MAVEN Retired After 11 Years of Groundbreaking Science

NASA has decommissioned MAVEN after an 11-year mission that transformed our understanding of Mars’ atmosphere; after a December 2025 contact loss, a review concluded the spacecraft is not recoverable. MAVEN revealed how solar activity accelerates atmospheric loss, documented planetwide auroras, and produced hundreds of scientific papers while also serving as a high-rate data relay. With other orbiters and a potential future telecom network stepping in to fill the gap, MAVEN’s legacy—exceeding its initial two-year plan—will endure for decades as the orbiter remains in Mars orbit until it naturally reenters.

via Space|

#atmosphere #mars #maven

space2 months ago•3 min saved

NASA Ends MAVEN Mars Orbiter After 11-Year Run

NASA has formally retired the MAVEN Mars orbiter after it went dark in December, declaring it unrecoverable; its 11-year data on atmospheric loss, sputtering, auroras, and solar-storm effects will inform future Mars exploration and crew safety, and it also served as a relay for rovers.

via Gizmodo|

#atmosphere #mars #maven

space2 months ago•73 min saved

MAVEN Joins Mars' Orbital Graveyard as NASA Bids Farewell to Atmospheric Explorer

NASA's MAVEN orbiter, which studied the Red Planet's atmosphere for nearly a decade, has been declared dead and now joins Mars' orbital graveyard. Its planned end-state would have left it in orbit for 50–100 years before eventual re-entry, and MAVEN's findings clarified how the solar wind stripped Mars' atmosphere billions of years ago. With MAVEN gone, only a handful of Mars orbiters remain active (Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, MRO, TGO, Hope, Tianwen‑1), while on the surface only Curiosity and Perseverance remain operational.

via Space|

#mars #mars-graveyard #mars-orbiters

space2 months ago•9 min saved

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.

via Ars Technica|

#atmosphere-escape #mars #mars-relay-network

space2 months ago•2 min saved

NASA Declares End of MAVEN Mars Mission After 11-Year Run

NASA has officially ended the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission after losing contact in December 2025. Launched in 2013 and in Martian orbit since 2014, MAVEN surpassed its one-year primary mission by more than a decade and even aided the Perseverance rover as a communications relay. An anomaly review determined the spacecraft can no longer perform science or relay data, likely due to a high-rate safe-mode rotation that drained its batteries after re-emerging from behind Mars. NASA will publish a full root-cause report later this year. MAVEN’s observations showed solar winds and storms drive atmospheric loss on Mars and helped explain dust-storm–related water loss.

via Engadget|

#mars #maven #nasa

science2 months ago•2 min saved

NASA Declares MAVEN Dead, Ending a Decade of Martian Atmosphere Study

NASA has declared the Mars orbiter MAVEN dead after six months of radio silence, ending more than a decade of atmospheric observations. The probe spun and drained its batteries after passing behind Mars, making recovery impossible; NASA expects MAVEN to drift for 50–100 years before reentry while four other Mars orbiters continue science.

via ScienceAlert|

#atmosphere #mars #maven

space2 months ago•5 min saved

NASA ends MAVEN Mars orbiter mission after loss of contact

NASA has ended the MAVEN Mars orbiter mission after the spacecraft lost contact behind Mars in December 2025 despite reset attempts. Launched in 2013 to study how solar wind erodes Mars' atmosphere, MAVEN delivered major insights into atmospheric escape, including sputtering, and helped relay data for Curiosity and Perseverance. The probe will remain in Mars orbit for decades, but NASA will not attempt to reestablish communications.

via CBS News|

#atmospheric-escape #mars #maven

science2 months ago•5 min saved

NASA Bids Farewell to Mars' Atmosphere Explorer MAVEN

NASA has decommissioned the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter after more than a decade mapping how Mars loses its atmosphere. Last contact occurred after it rotated behind Mars, with a review deeming the craft unrecoverable as its power drained. MAVEN’s observations advanced understanding of atmospheric escape and Mars’ transition from potentially habitable to cold and dry, and other orbiters will continue data relays as MAVEN slowly deorbits over the coming decades.

via The New York Times|

#mars-atmosphere #maven #nasa

space2 months ago•1 min saved

NASA ends MAVEN Mars mission after six months of silence

NASA has declared its MAVEN Mars orbiter dead after six months of radio silence. Launched in 2013 to study Mars’ atmosphere, MAVEN went silent after passing behind the planet in December, then spun and drained its batteries. A NASA review board concluded the spacecraft is unrecoverable, ending more than a decade of atmospheric observations and its role in relaying data from other Mars rovers.

via NBC News|

#mars #maven #nasa

space2 months ago•71 min saved

NASA’s MAVEN Mars orbiter ends its mission after months of radio silence

NASA has declared its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission dead after months of radio silence. Last contact came on December 6 as MAVEN went behind Mars and entered a safe, tumbling state that led to a loss of power; repeated attempts to reestablish communication have failed. Launched in 2013 and arriving in 2014 to study Mars’ atmosphere and its interaction with the solar wind, MAVEN exceeded its original one-year plan and even served as a relay for surface rovers. With MAVEN’s loss, only Odyssey and MRO remain in Mars orbit. NASA will hold a briefing and notes that MAVEN’s data will continue to benefit Mars science for decades while the exact cause of the incident is still under investigation.

via Space|

#mars #maven #nasa

space2 months ago•6 min saved

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.

via NASA (.gov)|

#mars #maven #nasa

space2 months ago•11 min saved

Mars’ ancient warmth and the mystery of its missing air

Rocks show that early Mars hosted liquid water, but whether it was warm remains debated. The planetary dynamo likely died between about 4.2 and 3.7 billion years ago, removing the magnetic shield and enabling solar wind to strip gas—an escape process MAVEN measured, especially during solar storms. Some carbon dioxide may have been stored in minerals like siderite, so not all missing air left to space. The balance between atmospheric loss and crustal storage is still uncertain, and better palaeomagnetic dating and additional sampling are needed to pin down Mars’ climate history. The cold desert is settled, but the path to understanding how it happened is ongoing.

via Space Daily|

#atmosphere-loss #carbon-cycle #magnetic-field

space3 months ago•72 min saved

Mars shows Earthlike solar-wind bending in its atmosphere

NASA’s MAVEN data, gathered after it went quiet in 2025, reveal the Zwan-Wolf effect—an Earth-style solar-wind deflection—occurring in Mars’ upper atmosphere during a December 2023 solar storm. The finding suggests Mars’ atmosphere can host temporary magnetic structures that funnel charged particles, implying the effect may operate continuously there but is usually too weak to detect; the results were published in Nature Communications. NASA also notes MAVEN’s ongoing recovery efforts after a period of contact loss.

via Space|

#magnetosphere #mars-atmosphere #maven

science3 months ago•3 min saved

Mars Shows Earth-like Space Weather: Zwan-Wolf Effect Detected in Its Atmosphere

NASA’s MAVEN detected the Zwan-Wolf effect, a magnetic-field-driven plasma squeeze, in Mars’ ionosphere during the 2023 solar storm—an unexpected Earth-like phenomenon on an unmagnetized world that could change how scientists understand space weather on Mars and similar bodies; the mission later went silent in December 2025, prompting an anomaly review.

via Gizmodo|

#mars #maven #nasa