Latest News about MAVEN, the NASA Mars Mission

MAVEN Spacecraft Orbiting Mars Artist's Conception
This artist's conception shows the NASA's MAVEN spacecraft orbiting Mars. The mission will launch in late 2013. (Image credit: LASP)

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. 

Related Topics: Curiosity Mars Rover Mission, ExoMars, India Mars Orbiter Mission, Mars, Mars Rover Opportunity 

Latest about maven mission

artist's depiction

UAE's Hope Mars mission discovers patchy new aurora variety over Red Planet

By Keith Cooper published

The new findings indicate that space weather can be more turbulent over Mars than first thought.

Mars
An artist's depiction of NASA's MAVEN spacecraft in orbit around Mars.

A navigation glitch on NASA's Mars orbiter MAVEN has stalled its science work

By Tariq Malik published

A navigation system glitch on NASA's MAVEN orbiter at Mars earlier this year has hobbled science.

Satellites
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

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

Mars
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

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

Mars
This ultraviolet view of Mars was created using images from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft taken between July 9-10, 2016 using the probe's Imaging UltraViolet Spectrograph. NASA released the images on Oct. 17, 2016.

Gorgeous Mars 'Nightglow' Spotted by NASA Orbiter (Photos, Video)

By Elizabeth Howell last updated

The first detailed look at Martian "nightglow" has been revealed, thanks to the work of NASA's newest Red Planet orbiter.

Satellites
NASA's MAVEN orbiter at Mars.

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

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

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.

Mars Rovers
MAVEN mars orbiter selfie

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

By Mike Wall published

Satellites
While many researchers have devised ways we might use Mars' carbon dioxide to terraform the planet and make it habitable, one new study suggests that the Red Planet simply doesn't have enough carbon dioxide for this to be possible.

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

By Chelsea Gohd published

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

Mars
Mars' proton aurora

'Stolen' Electrons Spark Unusual Auroras on Mars

By Samantha Mathewson published

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

Mars
maven mars sunrise

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

By NASA, Astrobiology Magazine published

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.

Mars
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