The American space agency NASA announced troubling news on Tuesday. They lost contact with one of their three key spacecraft in Mars orbit, MAVEN, whose role is key not only for scientific research, but also for and for communication with rovers on the surface. Contact was abruptly lost on December 6, and teams on Earth are frantically trying to re-establish contact. The last data sent by the spacecraft before it passed behind the Red Planet indicated that all systems were operating normally. But when it was supposed to reappear on the other side, only silence came from space, writes Science Alert.
“After the spacecraft appeared behind Mars, NASA’s Deep Space Network did not pick up a signal,” said a brief statement from NASA, which states that experts are investigating the anomaly.
Why is MAVEN so important?
The MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft is the newest of NASA’s three operational orbiters and has been orbiting Mars since September 2014. Although it has far exceeded its original lifespan, its role has only become more important over the years. MAVEN’s primary mission was to study the upper atmosphere of Mars and its interaction with the solar wind. It was the data from this spacecraft that helped scientists understand how Mars is one of the planets. had thick clouds and liquid water, became a cold and dry desert as we know it today.
MAVEN discovered that the solar wind has literally “peeled” most of the atmosphere off the planet over the course of billions of years. He also discovered new types of Martian aurora and helped map the winds in the upper atmosphere, providing key insight into the evolution of the planet.
In addition to its scientific role, MAVEN has become a vital communication relay. It is equipped with a UHF radio that transmits huge amounts of data from the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on the surface of Mars back to Earth. Although the rovers can communicate directly with the Earth, the transmission speed via the orbiter is incomparably higher.
Its unique elliptical orbit, extending up to 4,500 kilometers from the surface, allowed it the longest “windows” for communication, up to 30 minutes at a time, which is key for sending spectacular photos and complex scientific data. Without that support, much of what the rovers discover might never have reached us.
The old guard in orbit and an uncertain future
Losing MAVEN would be a huge blow to NASA, especially since the rest of the fleet is quite old. The other two American orbiters in operation are veterans: Mars Odyssey was launched back in 2001 and is dangerously close to running out of fuel, while the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been in space since 2005. Although MRO has fuel to operate until the 2030s and the best camera in orbit, relying on two-decade-old technology is risky. Pomoć I can also provide two European aircraft, but they are also at an advanced age. The situation is so worrying that it has reignited the debate about the need for a new, dedicated communications network around Mars.
Ironically, MAVEN was one of 19 missions that President Donald Trump’s administration proposed for elimination in the 2026 budget, but Congress largely rejected those cuts.
NASA councilć is exploring commercial options for future relay services, and companies such as Blue Origin and SpaceX have been awarded contracts to build studies. In the new law, the Congress even approved about 650 million euros for the development of a new “high-efficiency” telecommunications station in the orbit of Mars. But until this is realized, the fate of Red Planet exploration depends on the old and now depleted fleet.