New knowledge from the MAVEN have enabled researchers to find out the speed at which the Martian atmosphere at present is dropping fuel to area by way of stripping by the solar wind.
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The authors believe that the combination of faster loss rates and more frequent solar storms in the past, that sent much of the atmosphere into space, dramatically changed the Martian climate.
The recent study published in journal Science and Geophysical Research Letters sheds light on the mystery of what happened to the once hospital Martian environment.
“Mars appears to have had a thick atmosphere warm enough to support liquid water which is a key ingredient and medium for life as we now know it”, said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the NASA Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
NASA’s Mars-orbiting Maven spacecraft has discovered that the sun likely robbed the red planet of its once-thick atmosphere and water. Charged particles that come from the Sun shoot out towards the planets at about one million miles per hour.
MAVEN measurements indicate that the solar wind strips away gas at a rate of about 100 grams (equivalent to roughly 1/4 pound) every second.
According to lead investigator for MAVEN Bruce Jakosky from the University of Colorado, the single question which all have been trying to answer is, did Mars climate change? In September, Nasa announced that it had discovered salty streaks on Mars, suggesting liquid salty water seeps seasonally to the surface.
Around 75 percent of the ions escaped from a tail region, away from the source of the solar winds; 25 percent of the loss was from above the planet’s poles.
NASA has recently posted an announcement that reveals why Mars is such a barren planet.
Researchers measured solar winds now battering Mars – including a large solar storm in March.
Yelle said understanding current processes affecting Mars will help scientists better understand Mars’ atmospheric and climatic history.
A younger Mars may have lost its atmosphere at a more rapid pace when the sun churned out more violent and frequent storms.
The goal of NASA’s MAVEN mission, launched to Mars in November 2013, is to determine how much of the planet’s atmosphere and water have been lost to space.
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The study also looked at the interactions between Mars and solar winds as well as the aurora affects present on Mars. This discovery has sparked scientists to think that the atmosphere of Mars could be much denser and warmer about billions of years ago.
