MAVEN

MAVEN (for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) is a NASA mission that placed an orbiter around Mars to study its atmosphere, to draw conclusions about the atmosphere's history, such as the effects of solar wind and atmospheric escape. MAVEN was launched in 2013, carried out science work from 2014 into 2017, at which time its primary function was changed, to serve as a communications relay for other Mars missions (but I believe scientific data has continued to be collected, of interest being MAVEN's view of solar eruptions). It has fuel enough to serve in this latter capacity until 2030. However, communication with the spacecraft was lost in December 2025, and as of January 2026, efforts continue to reestablish it. Instruments:

• SWEA - Solar Wind Electron Analyzer.
• SWIA - Solar Wind Ion Analyzer.
• STATIC - Suprathermal and Thermal Ion Composition.
• SEP - Solar Energetic Particle.
• IUV - Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrometer.
• LPV - Langmuir Probe and Waves.
• MAG - Magnetometer.
• NGIMS - Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer.