NASA Declares Mars Spacecraft Dead After It Spins Out Of Control

InnovationScienceNASA Declares Mars Spacecraft Dead After It Spins Out Of ControlByJamie Carter,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky.Follow AuthorJun 03, 2026, 03:08pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.NASA has ended its MAVEN mission after losing contact with the spacecraft after an 11-year exploration of Mars’ atmosphere and climate.gettyNASA has officially concluded its MAVEN mission after more than 11 years orbiting Mars, marking the end of a groundbreaking effort to understand how the Red Planet lost much of its atmosphere. The space agency announced on Wednesday, June 3, that recovery efforts following an unexpected loss of contact with the spacecraft in December were unsuccessful, and that MAVEN — which stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution — is no longer capable of carrying out its scientific or communications duties.One of MAVEN’s final acts was to image 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object discovered in the solar system.What Was MAVEN?Launched on Nov. 18, 2013, on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, MAVEN arrived at Mars on Sept. 22, 2014. MAVEN was the first mission dedicated to studying the planet’s upper atmosphere and its evolution. Originally designed for a one-year mission, the spacecraft operated for more than a decade beyond its planned lifespan.The purple color shows auroras across Mars' nightside as detected by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument aboard NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter.NASA/University of Colorado/LASPMAVEN Loses Contact With EarthMAVEN lost contact with Earth on Dec. 6, 2025, and NASA engineers have been unable to contact it since. The spacecraft failed to reestablish communication when it passed behind Mars. According to the agen...