NASA believes the solar wind played a key role in stripping away the atmosphere in Mars.
Drawing on data gathered by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, researchers have been able to determine the rate at which the Martian atmosphere is currently losing gas to space, thanks to solar wind, equates to about 100 grams every second.
Artist’s rendering of a solar storm hitting Mars and stripping ions from the planet’s upper atmosphere. PICTURE: NASA/GSFC
“Like the theft of a few coins from a cash register every day, the loss becomes significant over time,” said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator at the University of Colorado.
He said the data also showed that the “atmospheric erosion” increases significantly during solar storms – as was the case during a series of storms in March this year, adding that this means the rate of atmospheric loss would have been greater when the sun was young.
The solar wind is made up of a stream of particles, mainly protons and electrons, which flow from the sun’s atmosphere at about a million miles an hour. The magnetic field carried by the solar wind can generate an electric field which then accelerates electrically charged gas atoms, called ions, in the upper Martian atmosphere and shoots them into space.
MAVEN, which was launched in November, 2013, will complete its primary mission of data collection later this month.
The news comes after NASA recently announced it had detected hydrated salts seasonally appearing on Mars, indicating the presence of briny liquid water.
