NASA has officially declared its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (Maven) spacecraft defunct after six months of silence. The announcement came on Wednesday, following the spacecraft's mysterious communication loss in early December, shortly after it executed a maneuver behind Mars. Prior to this, Maven had been fully operational, but upon re-emerging, it was found to have entered a rapid spin, which disrupted its orbit and drained its batteries. A review board determined that the spacecraft could not be recovered, although the investigation into the cause of the malfunction continues. Maven, which launched in 2013, has provided invaluable insights over its decade-long mission, notably showing how solar activity has affected Mars' atmosphere, transforming it from a once-wet world into the dry planet it is today. Besides studying Martian weather, Maven also played a key role in relaying data from NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. Shannon Curry, Maven's lead scientist, praised the spacecraft for its remarkable discoveries that have enhanced our understanding of Mars' atmospheric evolution.