NASA tries savin' MAVEN as Mars probe loses contact with Earth

NASA is still trying to recontact the MAVEN Mars orbiter after it stopped responding earlier this month, with fragmentary tracking data hinting the craft may be tumbling and off its predicted trajectory.

Earlier this week, the US space agency revealed that the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) team had managed to recover a fragment of tracking data from December 6 that indicated the spacecraft was "rotating in an unexpected manner" when it emerged from behind Mars. The signal's frequency also suggested that the orbit's trajectory might have changed.

In the update, NASA wrote, "The team continues to analyze tracking data to understand the most likely scenarios leading to the loss of signal.

"Efforts to reestablish contact with MAVEN also continue."

The agency did not confirm whether the spacecraft had entered safe mode, in which an anomalous event causes the probe to shut down all non-essential systems and ...