WASHINGTON : NASA said Wednesday it will end its mission
to study the atmosphere and evolution of Mars after its probe went silent for
six months.
Scientific spacecraft MAVEN—short for Mars Atmosphere and
Volatile Evolution—went into Martian orbit in 2014, reports BSS.
The mission was originally intended to operate for one or
two years, but the probe remained active for more than a decade, until December
2025 when it lost contact with Earth.
After months of silence, NASA has resigned itself to the
loss of the spacecraft, which is believed to still be in orbit around Mars.
The US space agency said Wednesday it would investigate
the cause of the loss.
For Shannon Curry, an astrophysics professor involved in
the flight, it was the “best Mars mission ever.”
The probe enabled scientists to understand the phenomenon
of atmospheric escape, which is the loss of atmospheric gases into space, Curry
told reporters.
“We now have a better understanding of atmospheric escape
at Mars than at any other planet, including Earth, and consequently Mars serves
as an incredible natural laboratory for understanding rocky planet atmosphere,”
Curry said.
NASA exploration program chief Tiffany Morgan added that
the MAVEN “profoundly advanced our understanding of Mars’s atmosphere, climate
history, and habitability.”
The probe also served as a communications relay between
Earth and the robots NASA has sent to the surface of the red planet.
Other orbiters will now have to pick up those relays.
