NASA's Mars orbiter goes dark, spins unexpectedly after observing interstellar visitor
By isabelle // 2025-12-17
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  • NASA's MAVEN probe has gone silent and is spinning out of control.
  • Its orbit changed mysteriously after passing behind Mars.
  • The failure occurred after MAVEN observed the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS.
  • This has fueled public speculation about a NASA cover-up.
  • MAVEN's loss is a major blow to Martian science and communications.
A veteran NASA spacecraft circling Mars has fallen mysteriously silent, and the space agency admits it is now spinning out of control with an altered orbit. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) probe, a cornerstone of Martian science for over a decade, stopped transmitting on December 4 after it passed behind the Red Planet during routine operations. The timing of this malfunction is particularly notable: MAVEN had successfully photographed the controversial interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS just two months earlier in October, when the comet passed within 19 million miles of Mars. Now approaching Earth, 3I/ATLAS continues to fuel intense public speculation, and MAVEN's sudden silence has only intensified scrutiny of NASA's transparency regarding the mysterious object. According to NASA, MAVEN was operating normally before it moved behind Mars. When it was expected to re-emerge and re-establish contact, there was only silence. A fragment of tracking data recovered on December 6 confirmed the worst: the spacecraft was rotating in an unexpected manner. The frequency of that signal further suggests MAVEN's orbit around Mars has changed. The agency has been forced to analyze these fragments to piece together what happened, as no direct telemetry has been received since the blackout began. In October, MAVEN was approximately 19 million miles from 3I/ATLAS when it photographed the interstellar object as it passed Mars. Those images were publicly criticized for their poor quality, sparking immediate online accusations that NASA was hiding clearer pictures. Now, with the probe offline more than a month later, those theories have exploded. On social media, users have directly linked the malfunction to the interstellar visitor. One user claimed without proof, "Either NASA is lying, and won't release the images because they know what it is, or whatever is piloting 3I/ATLAS knocked MAVEN offline. Either way, NASA is lying." Another questioned public trust in the agency, alleging a cover-up to prevent new images from leaking.

A history of critical science

To understand the gravity of this loss, one must appreciate MAVEN’s legacy. Launched in 2013, the orbiter arrived at Mars in 2014 on a prime mission to solve a profound planetary mystery: how did Mars transform from a warm, wet world capable of hosting life into the cold, arid desert it is today? MAVEN’s data were pivotal, revealing how the solar wind stripped away the Martian atmosphere over billions of years, causing its water to vanish into space. It has since served as a crucial communications relay for the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on the surface. While NASA states the ongoing problems are not related to 3I/ATLAS, the object’s unique characteristics have long made it a subject of scientific debate. Harvard physicist Avi Loeb, head of the Galileo Project which searches for extraterrestrial life, has documented more than a dozen anomalies in 3I/ATLAS. These include an anti-tail facing away from the sun and extreme color changes. Loeb argues these simultaneous anomalies would be nearly impossible for a natural comet.

The interstellar object approaches

Official agencies like NASA and the European Space Agency maintain 3I/ATLAS is a comet from another star system. Yet, the mystery persists. The object is set to make its closest pass by Earth on December 19, coming within 170 million miles. Loeb notes this date also brings a new moon, providing ideal dark skies for observation. "It's not up to NASA," Loeb explained. "There are hundreds of observatories around the globe that will observe it." He added that scientists will be watching closely to determine if the streams from the object are a cometary tail or something else. "There are too many telescopes available to block that data," Loeb stated, suggesting any attempt at a cover-up would be futile as amateur astronomers worldwide will train their lenses on the visitor. For NASA, the immediate practical concern is the loss of a major communications asset. MAVEN is one of four orbiters that relay commands and data between Earth and the rovers. The agency has arranged additional passes with the remaining orbiters to keep Perseverance and Curiosity operating, but the margin for error is now thinner. The central question remains: what happened to MAVEN? A decade of flawless operation was broken by a sudden, severe failure that altered its orbit while it was out of sight behind Mars. The lack of data leaves room for concerning possibilities, from a catastrophic internal systems failure to an unforeseen external event. As 3I/ATLAS glides closer, watched by a global audience of both professional and amateur scientists, the silence from MAVEN speaks volumes about the vulnerabilities of our robotic explorers in the deep, unforgiving space environment. Whether the probe’s fate is a bizarre coincidence or a chapter in a larger, unexplained story, its sudden silence has turned a routine observation into a cosmic whodunit, challenging official narratives and inviting the world to look up and question what else might be out there. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk Space.com Science.NASA.gov TheGuardian.com
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