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

NASA's Mars missions will go offline during a temporary communications blackout in October 2021. (Clockwise, from top left: Perseverance rover, Ingenuity helicopter, InSight lander, Odyssey orbiter, MAVEN orbiter, Curiosity rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter)

NASA Mars missions facing 2-week communications blackout as sun blocks Red Planet

By Elizabeth Howell published 28 September 21

NASA plans to pause most of its Martian work in October for safety reasons associated with the Red Planet's position in space.

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 Tillman published 19 November 20

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 published 20 February 19

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 published 25 September 18

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

By Chelsea Gohd published 30 July 18

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

'Stolen' Electrons Spark Unusual Auroras on Mars

By Samantha Mathewson published 25 July 18

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 published 21 February 18

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 published 25 January 18

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 published 11 October 17

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 published 21 September 17

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 published 30 August 17

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 published 22 May 17

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 published 18 May 17

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 published 11 April 17

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.