NASA Declares MAVEN Spacecraft Dead After Six Months of Silence

NASA announced on June 3 that the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter is officially dead. The spacecraft fell silent in early December after passing behind Mars, and a review board later determined that a rapid spin had drained its batteries, leaving the communications system powerless and the probe unrecoverable.

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Launched in 2013, MAVEN entered Mars orbit on Sept. 21, 2014. Its primary goal was to study the Red Planet’s atmosphere and its interaction with solar wind. Over more than a decade, MAVEN documented the process of atmospheric “sputtering,” observed multiple auroras, and revealed that Mars’s thin magnetic shield can expand thousands of miles when solar wind pressure eases. The orbiter also relayed data from the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers and captured images of a stray interstellar comet in 2023.

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• Shannon Curry, lead scientist, University of Colorado Boulder, oversaw MAVEN’s science program.

Lost in space: Nasa’s Mars probe Maven declared dead after months of silence

• NASA’s Anomaly Review Board, convened in February 2024, evaluated the spacecraft’s status.

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• The Deep Space Network (DSN), an international array of radio antennas, provided the telemetry fragment indicating the high-rate rotation.

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MAVEN completed roughly 6.6 orbits of Mars each Earth day and was originally designed for a one-year mission, yet it operated for more than ten years.

NASA declares its Mars Maven spacecraft dead after six months of silence

MAVEN’s long-term observations have shaped current models of how solar wind strips planetary atmospheres—a key factor in assessing Mars’s habitability and planning future crewed missions. The data on atmospheric sputtering, magnetic shielding, and auroral activity remain valuable for ongoing research.

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NASA’s statement confirmed that the spacecraft’s rapid rotation caused battery depletion, rendering the probe unrecoverable. The agency emphasized that MAVEN’s scientific legacy will continue to inform future Mars exploration. Shannon Curry praised the mission, noting that MAVEN “has truly advanced our understanding of the Martian atmosphere and evolution.”

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Sources agree that a fast spin led to battery drain, but the precise trigger for the spin remains unknown. NASA’s review board cited “an as-yet-unknown anomaly,” and investigators are still assessing why the spacecraft entered the rapid rotation after the December occultation.

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• “Now, the team has shared their findings: The spacecraft is not recoverable, and its mission is officially at an end.” — NASA officials

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• “The review board concluded that due to this rotation, the batteries on the spacecraft had drained, causing the communications system to lose power and rendering MAVEN in an unrecoverable state,” — NASA officials

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• “amazing discoveries.” — Shannon Curry, lead scientist

NASA declares its Mars Maven spacecraft dead after six months of silence

• “has truly advanced our understanding of the Martian atmosphere and evolution.” — Shannon Curry, lead scientist

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NASA will continue its investigation into the anomaly that caused MAVEN’s spin and battery loss. Archived MAVEN data will remain accessible to researchers, ensuring that the mission’s scientific contributions persist as a foundation for future Mars studies.

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