NASA ends MAVEN orbiter mission after 11 years of collecting atmospheric data from Mars.
NASA has officially ended the MAVEN mission after 11 years of studying the Martian atmosphere. The orbiter suffered an unrecoverable power failure after a high-rate rotation drained its batteries.
Why it matters
MAVEN provided over a decade of critical data regarding Mars' atmospheric evolution, and its loss marks the end of a significant planetary science mission.
S External Link Stevie Bonifield NASA ends MAVEN orbiter mission after 11 years of collecting atmospheric data from Mars. NASA hasn’t heard from MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) since December 6th. A review board concluded that the spacecraft was in an unrecoverable state after emerging from the far side of Mars because it was rotating at an “unusually high rate,” which drained the batteries, cutting off power to MAVEN’s communications systems.
The article provides a factual account of a technical failure and mission conclusion.
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