A NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars may be dead

NASA lost communication with its MAVEN probe almost a month before and attempt to re establish a connection have been futile.

For nearly a month NASA has been scrambling to make contact with spacecraft in orbit around Mars that fell silent.

The space agency lost communication with MAVEN probe on Dec. 6 and attempt to re establish a connection have been futile.

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Based on bits of data received that day mission controllers think the probe was spinning unexpectedly.

MAVEN spacecraft entered orbit around Mars in 2014 it has been studying the red planet upper atmosphere including plasma layer famous as ionoshphere and investigating how and why Mars has been losing its atmosphere over billion of years.

The spacecraft has been instrumental in relaying communication between two rovers on surface of Mars, curiosity and perservance and earth.

NASA has not able to reach MAVEN since it experience what agency called a loss of signal with ground station on Earth on Dec 6.

At time the spacecraft was orbiting behind Mars so signal loss was routine.

Mars always blocks Maven from phoning home during maneuver.

Probe re emerged from behind red planet NASA could not pick up any signals from it.

Nasa added it was investigating the anomaly in statement on Dec. 9 but provided few details.

Mission controllers reported that all of Maven subsystem had been working normally before it passed behind Mars.

The Maven mission was designed to last two years but it has been operating continously for over a decade.

NASA celebrated the probe 10th anniversary orbiting Mars.

The process of atmospheric loss on Mars MAVEN was helping scientist to get clearer picture of planet past and present climate and how it transformed from potential habitable world with liquid water on its surface to cold and barren planet that is today.

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The spacecraft is one of three NASA currently has in orbit around Mars.

The space agency also operated the Mars Orbiter which launched in 2005 and Mars Odyseey which lifted off in 2001.