NASA has revealed stunning new details after abruptly losing contact with one of its key spacecraft orbiting Mars, just days after the probe’s close-range observation mission involving the mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS.
The space agency confirmed Monday that the MAVEN probe went dark on December 4, immediately after passing behind Mars while tracking the object NASA insists on calling a comet.
MAVEN then failed to resume normal communication, instead emerging from Mars’s far side rotating abnormally and no longer responding to commands.
NASA now believes MAVEN’s orbit has been altered, though officials admit they won’t know the full extent until, or if, the probe starts transmitting again.
MAVEN has served as a primary communications relay for multiple Mars rovers since 2014.
This is the first major outage in its decade-long mission.
The timing has already ignited a firestorm.
MAVEN Was Photographing 3I/ATLAS Weeks Earlier
MAVEN came within 18 million miles of 3I/ATLAS in October and reportedly captured several images as the object passed Mars.
NASA released some of the images to the public.
Yet, they were widely criticized as blurry, low-quality, and suspiciously unhelpful.
The blackout occurred just as the probe was once again monitoring the object’s trajectory.
NASA insists the malfunction is a coincidence.
But the public isn’t buying it.
Social Media Erupts: “NASA is lying…”
Furious users on X voiced what many are thinking:
“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 wrote:
“Does anyone still trust NASA?
“Like, is there anyone out there who really thinks MAVEN just glitched out and NASA isn’t hoarding the data in secret to make sure no new 3I/ATLAS images showing UFO sneak into the public sphere?”
NASA has offered no detailed explanation for the probe’s sudden rotation, communication failure, or orbital alteration.
Harvard Astrophysicist Avi Loeb: Situation Raises Questions
Loeb, who has repeatedly questioned NASA’s premature classification of 3I/ATLAS, noted that the agency had already released some photos MAVEN captured, but it’s unknown how many additional images were onboard when the probe went dark.
Loeb emphasized that, regardless of NASA’s silence, 3I/ATLAS will be close enough on December 19 for amateur astronomers to photograph directly.
“It’s not up to NASA,” he told Newsmax.
“There are hundreds of observatories around the globe that will observe it.”
“There are too many telescopes available to block that data.”
WATCH:
December 19 also coincides with a new moon, ensuring ideal dark-sky conditions.
23 Nations Track 3I/ATLAS in Largest Planetary Defense Drill Ever
The timing of MAVEN’s outage could not be more explosive.
Europe, NASA, and over 23 participating nations are currently running the biggest planetary defense exercise in world history, centered around 3I/ATLAS’s approach to Earth.
The object makes its closest pass to Earth on Friday, coming within 170 million miles.
NASA insists that there’s no danger.
However, MAVEN going silent immediately after monitoring the object hasn’t exactly boosted confidence.
A Growing List of Anomalies NASA Still Cannot Explain
Avi Loeb’s research documents over a dozen anomalies suggesting 3I/ATLAS may not behave like a natural comet at all.
Among them:
• A large anti-tail pointing toward the Sun, consistent with engine exhaust, not gas vapor.
• Repeated directional changes that do not match gravitational expectations.
• Multiple unexplained visual emissions.
• Simultaneous anomalies that Loeb says “would be nearly impossible if it was natural.”
NASA and ESA reject this outright, claiming 3I/ATLAS simply comes from a distant star system and is made of unusual chemical elements.
But with MAVEN offline, incomplete data, and unanswered questions piling up, skepticism is spreading fast.
And with 3I/ATLAS arriving in Earth’s neighborhood in days, NASA is running out of time. And excuses.
READ MORE – ‘Pulsating Heartbeat’ Emerges from 3I/ATLAS as Interstellar Object Heads Toward Earth
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