MAVEN Mission

NASA's MAVEN mission is investigating the mystery of how ancient Mars went from being a wet world to the cold, dry desert it is now. The MAVEN (short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) probe will investigate the Red Planet's thin atmosphere, searching for signs of how the planet became what it is today. See the latest MAVEN news, photos and video here.

Latest Updates

Maps of the water content in the atmosphere of Mars suggest the Red Planet once had an ocean that covered 20 percent of its surface, a fifth of the planet. Most of that water was lost to space.

Big dust storms may have driven off much of Mars' water

By Nola Taylor Redd

Martian dust storms have helped to strip water from the red planet.

The MAVEN Spacecraft Will Fly Closer to Mars to Help NASA's Next Rover

By Doris Elin Urrutia

The 4-year old MAVEN mission will start making elliptical orbits closer to Mars' surface and prepare for its role as a future data-relay system for NASA's upcoming Mars 2020 rover.

NASA Mars Orbiter Snaps Selfie to Mark 4 Years at Red Planet

By Mike Wall

Can We Terraform Mars to Make It Earth-Like? Not Anytime Soon, Study Suggests

By Chelsea Gohd

Could we make Mars Earth-like? Not with existing technologies, one new paper suggests.

'Stolen' Electrons Spark Unusual Auroras on Mars

By Samantha Mathewson

A new type of aurora has been spotted on Mars, and thieving streams of solar wind may be to blame, a new study shows.

Gravity Assist Podcast: Mars, with Bruce Jakosky and Michael Meyer

By NASA, Astrobiology Magazine

NASA's Planetary Science Division Director, Jim Green, talks to the MAVEN mission's Principal Investigator Brice Jakosky and NASA's leading Mars scientist, Michael Meyer.

Escape from Mars! Red-Planet Dust Storms Linked to Atmosphere Loss

By Elizabeth Howell

Dust storms that take over the Martian globe play a key role in promoting gas escape from the Red Planet's atmosphere, according to a new study.

Strong Solar Storm Sparked Planet-Wide Aurora on Mars

By Kasandra Brabaw

A strong solar storm recently sparked a whole-planet aurora on Mars more than 25 times brighter than any seen before on the Red Planet, researchers say.

Comet Siding Spring’s Mars Meteor Shower

Comet's 2014 Mars Flyby Caused Most Intense Meteor Shower Ever Recorded

By Mike Wall

The annual Perseid meteor shower may be great, but it's got nothing on the brief sky show that Comet Siding Spring gave Mars in October 2014.

On Oct. 14, 2014 the Sun blew off a coronal mass ejection (CME) and was detected by several NASA and ESA probes.

Solar Storm Sentries: Spacecraft at Mars, Saturn and More Spot Huge Sun Eruption (Video)

By Sarah Lewin

On Oct. 14, 2014 the Sun blew off a coronal mass ejection (CME) and was detected by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and other NASA/ESA probes.

Martian Sky Went Metal After Meteor Strikes

By Charles Q. Choi

Metal detected in the sky of Mars may come from meteors streaking through the Red Planet atmosphere, a new study finds.

Mars' Raindrops May Once Have Been Bigger Than Earth's

By Mike Wall

Mars is dry as a bone today, but the Red Planet once had raindrops bigger than the ones we're used to here on Earth, a new study suggests.

Metal Detected in Mars' Atmosphere

By Mike Wall

NASA's MAVEN spacecraft has spotted iron, magnesium and sodium ions — electrically charged atoms — high up in the Red Planet's atmosphere over the past two years, a new study reports.