NASA’s loss of communication with Mars MAVEN orbiter poses a serious threat to Red Planet surface missions
NASA announced that it has lost contact with the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter, a spacecraft that has been operating in Mars orbit since 2014 and plays a key role in relaying communications to Mars rovers.
According to NASA’s official statement, the loss of communication occurred on December 6, 2025, as the orbiter passed behind Mars.
Previously, all of MAVEN’s subsystems were operating normally, but after exiting Mars’ shadow, no signals were received from it.
The MAVEN orbiter, which was launched in November 2013 and arrived in Mars orbit in September 2014, has a primary mission to study the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere and its interaction with solar winds.
Information that has greatly contributed to understanding Mars’ evolution from a wet planet to the dry world it is today.
In addition, being equipped with a UHF antenna, it facilitates communication between the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers and Earth, and losing communication with it could disrupt ongoing operations on the Martian surface.
