Mystery as NASA probe goes darkish after shut encounter with interstellar customer nearing Earth
NASA has revealed shocking new details after losing contact with a Mars space probe nearly two weeks after its close encounter with interstellar object 3I/ATLAS.
On Monday, the space agency said the MAVEN spacecraft went dark on December 4 while it was observing the mysterious visitor NASA has declared a comet.
MAVEN has been orbiting Mars since 2014 and has served as a communications relay for man-made rovers exploring the Martian surface.
According to the American space agency, the probe moved behind Mars while tracking the interstellar object, then suddenly stopped transmitting and started rotating in an unusual manner as it reemerged within view of Earth.
NASA said it appears whatever happened to MAVEN on the far side of the planet has also caused the probe’s orbit around Mars to change as well.
However, without direct data from the spacecraft, NASA has been forced to analyze fragments of tracking information to figure out what’s gone wrong. They won’t know for sure how MAVEN’s orbit has changed until it starts transmitting again.
MAVEN was only 18million miles away from 3I/ATLAS in October when it reportedly took a collection of photographs as the supposed comet passed the Red Planet – images which draw widespread criticism for their poor quality.
While the NASA spacecraft has dealt with minor technical issues in the past, this is the first time in a decade that something may have actually knocked the probe offline and disrupted its orbit.
MAVEN spacecraft (Pictured) has been orbiting Mars since 2014, but NASA lost connection to the probe on December 4
3I/ATLAS (Pictured) exhibits unique features, including an anti-tail, extreme color changes, an extremely unusual course, and a massive coma
The incident has already set off wild theories on social media that the communications blackout is somehow tied to 3I/ATLAS making its closest pass by Earth on Friday.
While the ongoing problems with MAVEN are not related to 3I/ATLAS, NASA has drawn sharp public criticism after the images taken near Mars came back blurry and lacked detail, sparking claims that the ‘real’ photos were being hidden.
‘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,’ one social media user on X claimed without proof.
‘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?’ another X user alleged.
Harvard Professor Avi Loeb noted that NASA previously revealed some of the photos MAVEN took during its close encounter with 3/ATLAS in October. It’s unknown how many images of the object had yet to be transmitted when the probe went dark.
While many have also claimed the interstellar object may have done something to MAVEN to knock it off its orbit, 3I/ATLAS was nowhere near the spacecraft when the malfunction occurred.
On December 19, 3I/ATLAS will pass within 170million miles of Earth, its closest pass by our planet on its journey through the solar system.
Even without MAVEN online to track the object, Loeb noted that the suspected comet will be close enough for amateurs to see it and photograph it with common telescopes, adding that any alleged cover-up won’t be possible in just days.
What do you think NASA isn’t telling us about MAVEN’s blackout and the mysterious 3I/ATLAS?
3I/ATLAS is projected to reach its closest point to Earth on Friday, December 19, when it gets within 170million miles of the planet
Stargazers recently captured brand new clear images of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS using lower quality telescopes compared to those used by NASA
‘It’s not up to NASA. There are hundreds of observatories around the globe that will observe it,’ the professor explained to NEWSMAX.
Loeb added that December 19 is also the date of a new moon, meaning there won’t be any extra light to contaminate the images of 3I/ATLAS.
At the same time, over 23 nations in Europe are actively tracking the interstellar visitor as part of the largest planetary defense drill in history.
‘There are too many telescopes available to block that data.’
Loeb, the head of the Galileo Project, a research group looking for extraterrestrial life, added that scientists should be able to prove whether the object has a gaseous cometary tail or if the streams of material seen shooting out of the comet are actually thrusters from a spacecraft.
The Harvard physicist has continued to argue that there are too many factors surrounding 3I/ATLAS that scientists have yet to explain to simply dismiss the object as an ordinary comet.
Those have included a comet’s tail, which is facing in the wrong direction of the sun, known as an anti-tail, suggesting the stream is actually exhaust from an engine that’s guiding the object through space.
In total, Loeb has documented over a dozen distinct ‘anomalies’ in 3I/ATLAS, all taking place at the same time, which the scientist said would be nearly impossible if it was natural comet.
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have both pushed back on this theory, concluding 3I/ATLAS is a comet from a distant solar system composed of a unique mixture of chemical elements.
