CAPE CANAVERAL — NASA declared its Maven spacecraft dead in June 2026 after six months of radio silence following an anomaly during a Mars occultation in December 2025. The agency confirmed the mission’s end after determining the spacecraft is no longer capable of performing its science or data relay functions.
The Maven spacecraft was last heard from on December 6, 2025, when it experienced an unexpected loss of signal after passing behind Mars. Telemetry prior to the occultation showed all subsystems functioning normally. After the spacecraft emerged from behind the planet, NASA’s Deep Space Network did not detect a signal. A brief fragment of data indicated Maven had entered safe mode and was rotating at an unusually high rate.
The fast rotation disrupted Maven’s orbit trajectory and drained its onboard batteries, rendering the spacecraft inoperable. NASA convened an anomaly review board in February 2026 to assess recovery options and evaluate the probe’s condition. The board concluded the spacecraft could not be recovered. An investigation into the root cause of the anomaly remains ongoing.
Launched in November 2013, Maven spent more than 11 years in orbit around Mars—10 years beyond its original one-year primary mission. It studied the Martian upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and interactions with the Sun, and also relayed data from NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on the surface. NASA has begun the formal process of decommissioning the mission and will archive the full dataset for future use by the science and exploration communities.
Shannon Curry, Maven’s principal investigator and a researcher at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, said in a statement: "The MAVEN mission has truly advanced our understanding of the Martian atmosphere and evolution. This dataset has had a tremendous impact on the field." She added: "Our science team is exceptionally proud of all of these amazing discoveries." Louise Prockter, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said: "The science MAVEN has given us is key to informing what kind of radiation protection and safety measures we must take before sending humans to Mars." She also noted: "The data collected from MAVEN will continue to provide valuable insight into Mars for decades to come."