NASA has lost contact with a spacecraft that has been orbiting Mars for over a decade. The MAVEN spacecraft suddenly stopped communicating with Earth-based stations at the beginning of the week. NASA reported this week that the spacecraft was operating normally before it disappeared behind the red planet, and when it reappeared, there was only silence. After its launch in 2013, MAVEN began studying the upper atmosphere of Mars and its interaction with the solar wind upon its arrival at the red planet the following year. Scientists eventually concluded that the Sun is responsible for Mars losing most of its atmosphere to space over the eons, turning it from a wet and warm planet into the dry and cold one it is today. MAVEN also served as a communications relay for NASA's two rovers on Mars, 'Curiosity' and 'Perseverance'.
