![]() ![]() || Today, Mars is a global desert with an atmosphere far too thin to support bodies of flowing water, but evidence shows that Mars was considerably wetter in the ancient past. Now, NASA's MAVEN orbiter is observing this process in action, providing significant data on solar wind erosion at Mars.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. Scientists have long suspected the solar wind of stripping the Martian upper atmosphere into space, turning Mars from a blue world to a red one. Over billions of years, this transformed Mars from a hospitable environment into the cold, dry planet that we see today.Learn more about the MAVEN argon loss finding. Scientists used measurements of light and heavy argon from MAVEN and NASA's Curiosity rover to determine that sputtering has removed 65% of Mars' argon to space, along with the majority of other gases like carbon dioxide. In this process, ions from the Mars atmosphere get picked up by the solar wind and slammed into other atoms at the top of the atmosphere, knocking them into space. By measuring light and heavy isotopes of argon in the Martian atmosphere, scientists have determined that the majority of the planet's air and water were removed to space by sputtering. || Solar wind and radiation are responsible for stripping the Martian atmosphere, according to results from NASA's MAVEN mission. Also available in text-readable PDF for the visually impaired. Enlarge or click "download" for print-resolution versions. Infographic explaining the MAVEN argon results. They estimated Mars lost as much water in 45 days during this storm as it typically does throughout an entire Martian year, which lasts two Earth years. Previously, scientists thought that water vapor was trapped close to the Martian surface like it is on Earth.The researchers measured 20 times more water than usual over two days in June 2018, when a severe global dust storm enveloped Mars. There, it is easily destroyed by electrically charged gas particles, or ions, and lost to space.The warm summer temperatures and strong winds associated with dust storms help water vapor reach the uppermost parts of the atmosphere, where it can easily be broken into its constituent oxygen and hydrogen, which then escape to space. Text-readable PDF version.Credits: NASA/Goddard/CI Lab/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez/Krystofer Kim || Scientists using an instrument aboard NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, spacecraft have discovered that water vapor near the surface of the Red Planet is lofted higher into the atmosphere than anyone expected was possible. This illustration shows how water is lost on Mars normally vs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |