NASA has officially ended its MAVEN mission after the spacecraft went silent on December 6, 2025. Despite efforts to re-establish communication following a routine pass behind Mars, all attempts were unsuccessful. The mission, which studied Mars's upper atmosphere for over 11 years, will now be decommissioned.
NASA has officially ended its search for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, which went silent on December 6, 2025. The spacecraft was in excellent condition prior to a routine occultation, a passage behind Mars that was expected to last less than an hour. However, ground teams failed to re-establish communication when MAVEN was scheduled to regain contact with Earth. Analysis of recovered telemetry data indicated the spacecraft was in 'safe mode' and spinning, suggesting a trajectory disruption that drained its batteries. Despite efforts to restore a link and listen for faint signals, all attempts to save the mission were unsuccessful. NASA officials announced on June 3, 2026, that they are ceasing all search efforts and beginning the process of decommissioning the mission. MAVEN had been orbiting Mars for over 11 years, studying its upper atmosphere and its interaction with space weather, and is over 200 million miles from Earth. The spacecraft is expected to continue orbiting Mars for another 50 to 100 years.
The end of the MAVEN mission marks the conclusion of over a decade of crucial data collection on Mars's atmosphere, which has significantly advanced our understanding of the planet's climate history and habitability, informing future exploration and potential human missions.