Nasa has officially retired the Maven spacecraft after over 11 years of study at Mars. The mission provided a vital look at how the planet lost its atmosphere and evolved into a cold desert. (Photo: Nasa)

Nasa's Maven spacecraft dead: What was it, and how did it find auroras on Mars?

Nasa has officially retired the Maven spacecraft after more than a decade of exploration at Mars. This mission provided crucial data on how the Red Planet lost its atmosphere.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Maven studied how solar winds stripped away Martian gases.
  • The spacecraft confirmed that dust storms heat the atmosphere.
  • Data gathered will help prepare for future human missions.

Mars has lost a loyal companion. For over 11 years, the Maven spacecraft has silently circled the Red Planet, acting as our eyes and ears in the harsh Martian atmosphere.

Nasa has officially confirmed that this pioneering mission has come to an end after losing signal with Earth last December.

WHAT WAS MAVEN DOING AT MARS?

Launched in November 2013, Maven stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN.

Its primary job was to investigate how Mars transformed from a world that might have once held liquid water and supported life into the cold, dry, dusty desert we see today.

By studying the upper reaches of the Martian atmosphere, scientists hoped to understand how the planet lost its protective shield of gases to the vastness of space.

Maven provided unique insights into the evolution of the thin Martian atmosphere. (Photo: Nasa)

Think of the Martian atmosphere like a leaking balloon. Solar wind, which consists of a constant stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun, stripped away these gases over billions of years.

Maven was the only spacecraft capable of measuring both the Sun and the Martian response simultaneously, providing a front row seat to this planetary erosion.

THE BIG DISCOVERY: MYSTERIOUS MARTIAN AURORAS

While the mission provided vital data on atmospheric loss, one of its most stunning findings involved Martian auroras.

On Earth, auroras are beautiful light displays caused by solar particles colliding with our magnetic field. Maven discovered that Mars experiences its own unique light shows.

Proton auroras at Mars paint the night sky in ways unseen on Earth, occurring across the entire planet instead of just the poles. (Photo: Nasa)

The team showed that protons, a type of subatomic particle, create entirely new kinds of auroras on the Red Planet.

Unlike on Earth, where these displays are mostly restricted to polar regions, Maven revealed that proton auroras at Mars can occur across the entire planet, painting the night sky in ways scientists never imagined.

WHY THE MISSION HAD TO END

Following a loss of signal in December 2025, Nasa convened a review board to assess the spacecraft.

It appears that after passing behind the planet, the probe entered a safe mode but began rotating at a high rate.

This uncontrolled spin drained the onboard batteries, cutting off power to the communications system.

The Maven spacecraft entered an unrecoverable state after power loss following a rapid rotation. (Photo: Nasa)

The mission team concluded that the spacecraft is now unrecoverable and has officially begun the decommissioning process.

While the loss is significant, Maven leaves behind a treasure trove of data. It helped us understand Martian auroras, witnessed global dust storms, and even tracked comets passing through the neighbourhood.

This mission has fundamentally changed how we understand planetary habitability, ensuring that when humans eventually land on the Red Planet, they do so with a deeper understanding of the environment they are stepping into.

- Ends