"The spacecraft was expected to send telemetry back to Earth, signals that were never picked up by NASA's Deep Space Network, a global system of massive radio antennas making up an interplanetary communications network. Less than a week later, NASA issued a new update, admitting that MAVEN appeared to be "rotating in an unexpected manner when it emerged from behind Mars.""
"But weeks later, things aren't looking much better. As SpaceNews senior writer Jeff Foust pointed out, NASA planetary science division director Louise Prockter conceded during a Tuesday meeting that the agency is "very unlikely" to recover the MAVEN orbiter. Not all hope is lost. Mars' solar conjunction, a weeks-long period when Mars and Earth are on opposite sides of the Sun, will end on January 16, which will give NASA a new opportunity to reestablish contact."
On December 6, NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, which had studied Mars' upper atmosphere for over a decade, went offline unexpectedly. Expected telemetry signals were not received by NASA's Deep Space Network. Analysis indicated MAVEN appeared to be rotating unexpectedly when it emerged from behind Mars. The last official update on December 23 said teams were continuing efforts to recontact the orbiter while analyzing tracking data fragments. Attempts to image MAVEN with Curiosity's Mastcam failed to detect the spacecraft. Agency leadership conceded recovery is very unlikely, but solar conjunction ending January 16 offers another chance to reestablish contact.
Read at Futurism
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