Science TechnologyTuesday, 20 January 2026·The Hindu
NASA ends MAVEN mission in 2026; important Mars science mission fact for TNPSC
NASA has declared the MAVEN mission ended, making it a useful science-and-space current-affairs item for exam preparation.
Key highlights
Direct fact
In January 2026, NASA declared the MAVEN mission ended, closing a significant Mars-orbit science mission that had studied the Red Planet’s upper atmosphere and space environment.
Key specifics
- NASA is the agency named in the January 2026 report.
- MAVEN is the mission that was declared ended.
- The mission is associated with Mars, also called the Red Planet.
- The report places the event in January 2026, making it current-affairs relevant.
- TNPSC can frame this as a space-mission and agency-based MCQ.
Exam lens
Question type: space mission match-the-following, NASA-MAVEN-Mars; key facts: NASA, MAVEN, January 2026, Mars; one-liner: which NASA mission studying Mars was declared ended?