After 11 years at Mars, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft went out with a whisper - Ars Technica Skip to content Ars Technica home Sections Forum Subscribe Search AI Biz & IT Cars Culture Gaming Health Policy Science Security Space Tech Feature Reviews AI Biz & IT Cars Culture Gaming Health Policy Science Security Space Tech Forum Subscribe Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Pin to story Theme HyperLight Day & Night Dark System Search Sign In Sign in dialog... Sign in BTS 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.” Stephen Clark – Jun 4, 2026 12:21 pm | 62 The purple color in this image shows auroras across Mars' nightside as detected in May 2024 by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument aboard NASA's MAVEN orbiter. The brighter the purple, the more auroras were present. Credit: NASA/University of Colorado/LASP The purple color in this image shows auroras across Mars' nightside as detected in May 2024 by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument aboard NASA's MAVEN orbiter. The brighter the purple, the more auroras were present. Credit: NASA/University of Colorado/LASP Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft was in excellent shape when it disappeared behind Mars on December 6 of last year.
The routine passage, called an occultation, was supposed to last less than an hour, but ground teams didn’t hear from the spacecraft when it was supposed to regain contact with Earth. The loss of communication triggered contingency plans for engineers to try to restore a link with MAVEN, which orbits Mars more than 200 million miles from Earth. To no avail, they listened for faint signals and uplinked commands in the blind. Hopes of saving the mission faded over time, and NASA officials announced Wednesday that they’re giving up on it.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/after-11-years-at-mars-nasas-maven-spacecraft-went-out-with-a-whisper/
The routine passage, called an occultation, was supposed to last less than an hour, but ground teams didn’t hear from the spacecraft when it was supposed to regain contact with Earth. The loss of communication triggered contingency plans for engineers to try to restore a link with MAVEN, which orbits Mars more than 200 million miles from Earth. To no avail, they listened for faint signals and uplinked commands in the blind. Hopes of saving the mission faded over time, and NASA officials announced Wednesday that they’re giving up on it.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/06/after-11-years-at-mars-nasas-maven-spacecraft-went-out-with-a-whisper/