tech
After 11 years at Mars, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft went out with a whisper
“I think the team has really experienced the loss of a loved one with the end of the mission.”
TL;DR
- NASA has ceased efforts to search for the MAVEN spacecraft and will decommission the mission.
- MAVEN lost contact with Earth during a routine occultation behind Mars, an event that was expected to be brief.
- Recovered telemetry data indicates MAVEN was spinning at approximately 2.7 revolutions per minute, faster than expected, suggesting a critical failure.
- This rapid spin likely caused the spacecraft to lose power, draining its batteries.
- MAVEN was a successful mission, studying Mars' atmospheric escape and outliving its prime mission by 11 years.
- The spacecraft also served as a crucial data relay for NASA's rovers and landers on the Martian surface.
- While NASA has other orbiters for relay, MAVEN's higher orbit made it particularly valuable for transmitting large data volumes.
- NASA is seeking commercial solutions for a future Mars Telecommunications Network to replace the current relay capabilities.
- MAVEN's scientific legacy is considered secure, with significant discoveries about atmospheric sputtering and response to solar storms.