NASA lost contact with the spacecraft, which had been orbiting Mars for more than a decade, although the US space agency said it was trying to restore communications.
Over the weekend, Maven suddenly stopped communicating with ground stations. NASA said this week that the spacecraft was operating normally before it went beyond the Red Planet. When he appeared again there was only silence. “Telemetry showed that all subsystems were operating normally before it entered orbit behind [Mars]- NASA said in statement.
“The spacecraft and task forces are investigating the anomaly to correct the situation. Additional information will be provided as soon as it becomes available.” NASA added.
Launched in 2013, Maven began studying the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere and its interaction with the solar wind, reaching the Red Planet the following year. Scientists blamed the Sun for this Mars having lost most of its atmosphere to space over thousands of years, transforming it from the wet and warm to the dry and cold world it is today.
Maven also served as a communications relay for NASA's two Mars rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance, whose exploration of the planet has led to many scientific discoveries.
NASA has two other spacecraft around Mars that are still active: the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2005, and Mars Odyssey, launched in 2001.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
