NASA's Maven spacecraft at Mars declared dead after six months of silence
L'essentiel
- NASA's Maven spacecraft, launched in 2013 to study Mars' atmosphere, has been declared dead after six months of radio silence.
- The spacecraft mysteriously fell silent in December after entering a fast spin, draining its batteries and rendering it unrecoverable.
Résumé généré par IA
Pourquoi c'est important
NASA's Maven spacecraft, launched in 2013, studied Mars' atmosphere from orbit. After six months of silence, the space agency declared the mission dead on Wednesday, confirming it ended after more than a decade of observations.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After six months of radio silence, NASA’s Maven spacecraft at Mars has been declared dead.
The space agency confirmed Wednesday that the mission had ended after more than a decade of observations.
Launched in 2013 to study the red planet’s atmosphere from orbit, Maven mysteriously fell silent in early December after passing behind Mars. Data indicated the spacecraft went into a fast spin, which disrupted its orbit and drained the onboard batteries.
A review board convened by NASA earlier this year concluded that the spacecraft is useless and unable to be recovered. An investigation continues into what caused the problem.
Besides studying Martian weather and observing a stray interstellar comet last year, Maven helped relay information from NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on the surface.
Maven's lead scientist, Shannon Curry of the University of Colorado Boulder, said the spacecraft made a number of “amazing discoveries.”
Maven “has truly advanced our understanding of the Martian atmosphere and evolution,” she said in a statement.
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Questions ouvertes
- What specifically caused the spacecraft to go into a fast spin?
- Will the investigation into the cause of the problem yield new insights?
