Agency: NASA loses contact with the MAVEN orbiter around Mars

The American space agency NASA has lost contact with the MAVEN orbiter around Mars.

According to the German Press Agency, a NASA spokesperson said that efforts are underway to restore communication with the spacecraft, noting that no regular data has been received from it for about two weeks.

NASA said last Monday that “a short segment of tracking data” from earlier this month suggests that the probe may be “rotating in an unexpected manner.”

Launched at the end of 2013, MAVEN has been orbiting Mars for nearly ten years and provides important scientific data, particularly about the planet’s atmosphere.

NASA also has the Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter probes in operation, in addition to the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on the surface of the Red Planet.