{"id":13811,"date":"2025-05-29T12:02:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T16:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-maven-makes-first-observation-of-atmospheric-sputtering-at-mars\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T12:02:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T16:02:01","slug":"nasas-maven-makes-first-observation-of-atmospheric-sputtering-at-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasas-maven-makes-first-observation-of-atmospheric-sputtering-at-mars\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s MAVEN Makes First Observation of Atmospheric Sputtering at Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s MAVEN Makes First Observation of Atmospheric Sputtering at Mars<\/h2>\n

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After a decade of searching, NASA\u2019s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere Volatile Evolution) mission has, for the first time, reported a direct observation of an elusive atmospheric escape process called sputtering that could help answer longstanding questions about the history of water loss on Mars.<\/p>\n

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Scientists have known for a long time, through an abundance of evidence, that water was present on Mars\u2019 surface billions of years ago, but are still asking the crucial question, \u201cWhere did the water go and why?\u201d<\/p>\n

Early on in Mars\u2019 history, the atmosphere of the Red Planet lost its magnetic field, and its atmosphere became directly exposed to the solar wind and solar storms<\/a>. As the atmosphere began to erode, liquid water was no longer stable on the surface, so much of it escaped to space. But how did this once thick atmosphere get stripped away? Sputtering could explain it.<\/p>\n

Sputtering is an atmospheric escape process in which atoms are knocked out of the atmosphere by energetic charge particles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like doing a cannonball in a pool,\u201d said Shannon Curry, principal investigator of MAVEN at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder and lead author of the study. \u201cThe cannonball, in this case, is the heavy ions crashing into the atmosphere really fast and splashing neutral atoms and molecules out.\u201d<\/p>\n

While scientists had previously found traces of evidence<\/a> that this process was happening, they had never observed the process directly. The previous evidence came from looking at lighter and heavier isotopes of argon in the upper atmosphere of Mars. Lighter isotopes sit higher in the atmosphere than their heavier counterparts, and it was found that there were far fewer lighter isotopes than heavy argon isotopes in the Martian atmosphere. These lighter isotopes can only be removed by sputtering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is like we found the ashes from a campfire,\u201d said Curry. \u201cBut we wanted to see the actual fire, in this case sputtering, directly.\u201d<\/p>\n

To observe sputtering, the team needed simultaneous measurements in the right place at the right time from three instruments aboard the MAVEN spacecraft: the Solar Wind Ion Analyzer, the Magnetometer, and the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer. Additionally, the team needed measurements across the dayside and the nightside of the planet at low altitudes, which takes years to observe.<\/p>\n

The combination of data from these instruments allowed scientists to make a new kind of map of sputtered argon in relation to the solar wind. This map revealed the presence of argon at high altitudes in the exact locations that the energetic particles crashed into the atmosphere and splashed out argon, showing sputtering in real time. The researchers also found that this process is happening at a rate four times higher than previously predicted and that this rate increases during solar storms.<\/p>\n

The direct observation of sputtering confirms that the process was a primary source of atmospheric loss in Mars\u2019 early history when the Sun\u2019s activity was much stronger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese results establish sputtering\u2019s role in the loss of Mars\u2019 atmosphere and in determining the history of water on Mars,\u201d said Curry.<\/p>\n

The finding, published this week in Science Advances, is critical to scientists\u2019 understanding of the conditions that allowed liquid water to exist on the Martian surface, and the implications that it has for habitability billions of years ago.<\/p>\n

The MAVEN mission is part of <\/em>NASA\u2019s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.<\/em> MAVEN\u2019s principal investigator is based at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, which is also responsible for managing science operations and public outreach and communications.<\/em> NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the MAVEN mission. Lockheed Martin Space built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California provides navigation and Deep Space Network support.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tMore information on NASA\u2019s MAVEN mission<\/span>
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By Willow Reed
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder<\/strong><\/p>\n

Media Contacts:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nancy N. Jones<\/a>
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.<\/p>\n

Karen Fox \/ Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov\u00a0\/ molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov<\/p>\n

karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a>\u00a0\/ molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

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