NASA begins formal anomaly review after MAVEN probe lost in space
(2026/01/27)
- Reference: 1769520277
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/01/27/nasa_anomaly_review_maven/
- Source link:
NASA is setting up an anomaly review board to look into the fate of its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, which was last heard from on December 6.
Attempts to make contact with the Mars orbiter are [1]ongoing . The final fragments of data indicated that the spacecraft was tumbling and had possibly changed trajectory. The MAVEN team is analyzing snippets of data recovered from a December 6 radio science campaign to develop a timeline of possible events and likely root causes of the issue.
James Godfrey, retired Spacecraft Operations Manager for ESA's Mars Express, pondered what might have happened to MAVEN in a message to The Register .
[2]
"The fact that it appears to be rotating in an unexpected manner (tumbling?) and might have experienced an orbital change (I guess from inconsistent Doppler data) does suggest an energetic event.
[3]
[4]
"It's unlikely that anything has hit it – not much space debris at Mars. So more likely something onboard."
If the spacecraft had entered a normal safe mode, controllers should have been able to communicate with it. "So whatever has happened, it hasn't been able to reach safe mode for some unknown reason," Godfrey speculated.
[5]
"So problems that could result in loss of attitude, possible orbit change, would suggest problems affecting GNC [Guidance, Navigation, and Control]. Could be an onboard computer failure, stuck valve, run out of fuel etc. Possibly a problem with the reaction wheels? In any case, something that caused the thrusters to fire in an unbalanced fashion from which the spacecraft was unable to recover autonomously."
[6]NASA planet hunter resumes operations after low power incident
[7]NASA tries Curiosity rover's Mastcam to work out where MAVEN might be
[8]NASA tries savin' MAVEN as Mars probe loses contact with Earth
[9]NASA loses contact with MAVEN Mars orbiter
All possibilities are bad news for MAVEN, both as a mission and a telecommunications relay for NASA's Mars rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance. The spacecraft entered Mars orbit on September 22, 2014, with a two-year planned mission. It has since endured for well over a decade, gathering data on the planet's atmosphere.
Attempts to contact the probe were further complicated by the solar conjunction, when the Sun lies between the Earth and Mars, blocking communication.
Godfrey noted this was "a more challenging conjunction than the run-of-the-mill" and the fact "the Sun being very active at the moment won't help."
All of which makes MAVEN's recovery at this stage improbable. The thermal and power status of the spacecraft is not known, nor is its location.
[10]
The assembly of a formal anomaly review board is an indicator that, while NASA has yet to throw in the towel, things are not looking good for MAVEN, and managers want to understand what happened. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/maven/2026/01/26/nasa-resumes-efforts-to-reestablish-contact-with-maven/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aXjvQAAQanmuuJtwtrIZgwAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[6] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/23/nasa_planet_hunter_resumes_operations/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/24/nasa_tries_trundlebot_mastcam_to/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/nasa_maven_mars_probe_loses_contact/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/11/nasa_maven_loss_of_contact/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aXjvQAAQanmuuJtwtrIZgwAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Attempts to make contact with the Mars orbiter are [1]ongoing . The final fragments of data indicated that the spacecraft was tumbling and had possibly changed trajectory. The MAVEN team is analyzing snippets of data recovered from a December 6 radio science campaign to develop a timeline of possible events and likely root causes of the issue.
James Godfrey, retired Spacecraft Operations Manager for ESA's Mars Express, pondered what might have happened to MAVEN in a message to The Register .
[2]
"The fact that it appears to be rotating in an unexpected manner (tumbling?) and might have experienced an orbital change (I guess from inconsistent Doppler data) does suggest an energetic event.
[3]
[4]
"It's unlikely that anything has hit it – not much space debris at Mars. So more likely something onboard."
If the spacecraft had entered a normal safe mode, controllers should have been able to communicate with it. "So whatever has happened, it hasn't been able to reach safe mode for some unknown reason," Godfrey speculated.
[5]
"So problems that could result in loss of attitude, possible orbit change, would suggest problems affecting GNC [Guidance, Navigation, and Control]. Could be an onboard computer failure, stuck valve, run out of fuel etc. Possibly a problem with the reaction wheels? In any case, something that caused the thrusters to fire in an unbalanced fashion from which the spacecraft was unable to recover autonomously."
[6]NASA planet hunter resumes operations after low power incident
[7]NASA tries Curiosity rover's Mastcam to work out where MAVEN might be
[8]NASA tries savin' MAVEN as Mars probe loses contact with Earth
[9]NASA loses contact with MAVEN Mars orbiter
All possibilities are bad news for MAVEN, both as a mission and a telecommunications relay for NASA's Mars rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance. The spacecraft entered Mars orbit on September 22, 2014, with a two-year planned mission. It has since endured for well over a decade, gathering data on the planet's atmosphere.
Attempts to contact the probe were further complicated by the solar conjunction, when the Sun lies between the Earth and Mars, blocking communication.
Godfrey noted this was "a more challenging conjunction than the run-of-the-mill" and the fact "the Sun being very active at the moment won't help."
All of which makes MAVEN's recovery at this stage improbable. The thermal and power status of the spacecraft is not known, nor is its location.
[10]
The assembly of a formal anomaly review board is an indicator that, while NASA has yet to throw in the towel, things are not looking good for MAVEN, and managers want to understand what happened. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/maven/2026/01/26/nasa-resumes-efforts-to-reestablish-contact-with-maven/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aXjvQAAQanmuuJtwtrIZgwAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aXjvQAAQanmuuJtwtrIZgwAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aXjvQAAQanmuuJtwtrIZgwAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/23/nasa_planet_hunter_resumes_operations/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/24/nasa_tries_trundlebot_mastcam_to/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/nasa_maven_mars_probe_loses_contact/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/11/nasa_maven_loss_of_contact/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aXjvQAAQanmuuJtwtrIZgwAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Obviously...
Neil Barnes
"It was spoiling my view of Venus!"
I ain't Spartacus
"Deespatch Var Rocket Ajax to bring back it's body!"
Let us be realistic here...
Joe W
... it was launched in 2014 and had an expected mission duration of two years. It is now 2026. This thing was launched 12 years ago. It is awesome how well it was built (and designed, let's not forget that).
(I'm not saying it is no longer useful, or we should not care, or still try to find out if we can recover it, I'm just bloody amazed at how long it has been working - and it is not the only example of this excellence)
Re: Let us be realistic here...
Ace2
The one last bit of science it can provide is an RCA of its failure.
Re: Let us be realistic here...
NetMage
The reason satellites and rovers last so far past their initial design life is they are designed and built to have no failures during that design life. Ensuring no failures for a period of time requires overbuilding for that period which means on average a much longer life with an increasing risk of failure.
Send Bugs
l8gravely
There was a Maven Shattering Ka-Boom!
Obviously...
...since "does suggest an energetic event" and "It's unlikely that anything has hit it" are assumed to be true, then the hypothesis "zapped by a Martian" has moved up the list.